The Unchanged Equation
by Engineered for Your Safety
Summary: What if the new timeline was the original and only timeline? Here's how Season Four would have gone.
1. Chapter 1

**The Unchanged Equation**

**Summary: **What if the new time-line was the original and only time-line? Here's how Season Four would have gone.

**Details: **Canon Couples, but a focus on Jo/Zane; AU (but a canon one, sorta); story is un-beta'ed

**Spoilers:** Everything so far aired in the series.

**Rating: **Mostly T. Mostly because Zane's internal monologue is a bit dirty (big surprise). I'm not so familiar with the intricacies of the rating system so if you feel that a chapter has veered into M territory, please let me know via a review & I'll change it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Eureka or its characters and write this story for pure (nonprofit) entertainment.

**Notes: **While working on "Problem Solving For Beginners", I started to wonder about Alt-Eureka. How did it get like it was? Why the divergences from the original time-line? I focused on the Jo / Zane dynamic because it's a pretty big change and for some reason, I want those two crazy kids to work it out. I did wonder though what could lead to Zane being so ostracized by Jo, Carter and the rest of the town. So, I took a guess as to what caused that. Also, Eureka has always presented time-line variances as controlled to a certain extent. You can change small things but too big of a divergence (like saving Kim's life) has world-ending repercussions. As a consequence of that, if the five characters did NOT go back in time on Founder's Day, then someone still had to be messing with the time-line. So, this alternate version of the first half of Season Four will still have a time-travel arc, it just won't be the same time-travel arc. Each chapter will correspond to an aired episode, except for the first two which are together. Once you take away the events in 1947, there's not much left of "Founder's Day". I have the first few episodes taken care of but I'll be posting at a slow rate so I can finish the remaining chapters/episodes. Please let me know what you think.

* * *

**Chapter One: Founder's Day/A New World**

Jo Lupo had been braced for impact all morning. She'd gone on her run, showered and dressed knowing that at any moment the other shoe would drop. Founder's Day in Eureka meant too many experiments, too many delicate egos and lots of alcohol. Jo's mind flashed on a cocky smirk in a motorcycle jacket before she could stop herself. She sipped her soy protein shake with one eye on the clock. 8:37 am. They'd already made it four minutes longer than last year. Would it be five?

Her phone trilled. Four minutes it is. "Lupo here."

"Ah, Jo?" Carter already sounded harried and in need of a favor. "I know you're busy today but I have a situation."

"What's going on?"

"Oh, the usual." Carter got that smug tone when he had been right about something.

"No!"

"Yep, caught him in the act." Yesterday, Carter had received an anonymous tip that Zane Donovan would attempt to disrupt the monkey experiment in Section Two. Jo had worked with Carter long enough not to question his sources and besides, for a crazy jackass Donovan had a real weakness for small, cute and furry.

"Thanks for the heads-up. Today is going to be a lot smoother without Donovan making trouble."

"Yeah, see that's the problem. He's in lock-up. Andy's out directing traffic and Fargo's got me doing crowd control on Main Street."

"Donovan can't be left alone. He's dangerous." Jo had made that mistake once, back when she'd been a deputy. There wasn't enough lingerie in the world to make her forget it.

Carter replied, voice hard. "I know. That's why I called you."

Jo's sighed. Everyone on her team was out guarding the equipment for today's demonstrations. Jo didn't really have anyone available either. Except the obvious of course. It wouldn't be the first time she'd managed things while preventing Donovan from being himself with explosives and blithe arrogance. "I'll be there in fifteen."

* * *

Zane went straight for his physics journal stash as soon as the door lock clicked into place. The first few hours after he'd ended up in Eureka, Zane had taken advantage of then-Deputy Lupo's poor credit security to score her a few gifts and himself some reading material. The Sheriff had confiscated all his journals as punishment for insulting his deputy's honor & credit history, leaving Zane bored. Zane never handled boredom well. Ever.

Sometimes locked-up in the Sheriff's office, he would stare out at a patch of wooden flooring and try not to remember the shape of the bloodstain left after they carried Zoe Carter out. Sure, he'd saved the town after. But it had been after.

The Sheriff, thankfully, was not a stupid man. Next time Zane ended up in jail, a stack of physics journals had been stuffed behind the loose brick under the window. Somehow, once Lupo took over there, a similar pile magically appeared in the GD holding cells. It was one of the few things verboten in his spats with Lupo. Although he would never admit it aloud, Zane didn't want to risk being locked up with no distractions.

Speak of the devil, she walked in. He'd known Lupo was coming. The Sheriff always called on her when Zane needed babysitting. Once, in his earlier more delusional days, Zane had wondered if she secretly liked being around him. But there's only so many times a man can be tasered, publicly humiliated or handcuffed not in a good way before said man realizes that the woman doing the tasering, etc is a total frigid bitch.

Zane watched the Enforcer unpack a briefcase, say her goodbyes to an already frantic Carter and settle in. He allowed her a minute or two of quiet before talking over the top of his magazine. "Alone again, Lupo? People will talk."

"About how a super-genius couldn't even rescue a few wee monkeys?" She didn't look up from her work as she spoke. She almost never did.

"Well, if there's any chance I get to see you change into another number like last year, I'd say my forward planning skills are getting better all the time."

"I'm in an Army uniform for this year's dance. Mansfield requested it." Zane rolled his eyes, an act which finally got her attention. "Are you disrespecting the uniform Donovan?"

"I dunno. Does it want to be disrespected?" Zane noticed her fingers twitched, probably wishing she'd brought that damn taser with her. Thank God the Sheriff likes things old school.

"No, it does not."

"Underwhelming as usual, Lupo."

"Disgusting as always, Donovan." Now that they had the pleasantries out of the way, they could both go back to their corners. In his first six months in Eureka, Zane would have continued until unconscious. It had taken several head injuries due to local law enforcement but he learned not to piss off Jo Lupo unless for something really, really worth it. Zane felt a slight pang for those monkeys. However, their frail screeching ghosts were preferable to Lupo-The-Enforcer at full power.

Several journals and a stack of completed paperwork later, Lupo got a call. After a few seconds of explanation from the other end, she stomped over to Zane. "You have anything else planned for today?"

"And not dedicate my full resources to those wee monkeys?"

Lupo nodded, getting one last dig in before going back to her call. "Full resources weren't enough Donovan. Parrish, explain it again." Zane closed his physics journal. He'd worked with Parrish often enough to know that the man did not panic easily or particularly care for Lupo.

"Lupo, what's going on?" At her skeptical frown, Zane pointed to himself. "Super-genius."

"Exactly." She went back to her call. Thankfully, Lupo's thought processes involved a good deal of repeating what she heard, re-ordering things into a sensible explanation. Although she did not have Zane's level of physics knowledge, she excelled at reading the emotional cues of the scientists around her and inferring what the consequences of today's melt-down would be. Zane had never found that quirk attractive at all.

Thanks to Jo's-not-at-all-hot mind, Zane knew that a wireless power signal had been detected a half an hour ago. Someone up to some illicit research somewhere, wouldn't be the first time. Often, it was him except he hadn't been in a lab with that kind of equipment all day and most of last night.

Considering the signal was gaining in strength and beginning to interfere with even shielded equipment at GD, people were starting to worry. Out of control experiments were a dime a dozen in Eureka but these frequencies meant temporal research. As he listened to Lupo go over the details, Zane idly hoped they would get a lid on it. Temporal mechanics were a bitch, at this rate the resulting energy pulse alone would-

Lupo was standing right in front of the window. A window which Zane knew, thanks to his escape attempts, faced the northwest unobstructed by other buildings. The signal currently tracked to somewhere in the woods northwest of town.

"Lupo, get away from that window." The gap between the surrounding buildings would funnel the blast. Thanks to his flawless visual memory, he had a pretty detailed picture of what Jo Lupo would look like after. And he knew it would be infinitely worse than Zoe Carter.

"I thought you said you had nothing planned." She went back to ignoring him.

"Damnit Lupo! Take cover!" She rolled her eyes at him, informing Parrish that she needed to debrief their prime suspect. Parrish thankfully, had never been blinded by Zane's antics and was apparently putting up a good argument for his innocence. There's no way Lupo would listen, not in time.

There was also no way Zane Donovan would ever sit back and watch what the shattering high-velocity shards of a plate glass window would do to a Jo Lupo, for once in her goddamn life, oblivious to danger. She'd be pissed later but he'd burn that bridge went he got to it.

The cell door opened and Zane tackled her out of the way before thinking too much about what punishment Lupo would inflict on him for daring to touch the Grand High Priestess of the Hand Grenade. Just in time, he thought as a muffled "Thump!" echoed in the air and rippled through the ground. A moment later, the window exploded.

* * *

Jo woke up slowly, the heavy weight on top of her warm and oddly comforting. Her mind drifted, trying in a diffuse way to remember how exactly she got wherever she was. A masculine groan resonated through the weight into her. The last few moments returned, including a body impacting, wrapping around her own. Her eyes flew open. "Zane!"

The man on top of her winced. "Hold it Lupo. You didn't scream loud enough to get both ears. Do that again." He turned his head.

"Zane!"

"Thanks."

She remembered. The rumbling, her on the phone, Zane's pleas for her to take cover. She froze, half gripping his shirt. "You knew."

He shook his head, one hand on his forehead and the other still wrapped around her, fingers splayed wide. "Yeah, it was the flux reading from the lab. That pattern. Ah!" He rubbed his temple with greater emphasis. "It was a temporal energy cascade."

"What did you do?" Jo said the words slowly, like she wasn't lying underneath someone who had finally blown up half the town.

He froze, glaring down at her. Some part of Jo knew instantly that she'd insulted him beyond their usual mutual agreement to loathe and be loathed. He leaned in, a gesture that in another life could be romantic, whispering fiercely. "I just saved your life Lupo." He leaned back and deftly rolled off of her. "Certainly not my smartest move."

Jo, not wanting to be outdone, stood with only a fraction less than her usual grace. As with every time their confrontations turned physical, she suppressed whatever disobedient part of her wanted Zane like it wasn't the single most irrational impulse that she'd ever had. Brushing the dust off her clothes, she realized something. "How did you get out? You were in a locked cell!"

He ran a hand through his hair, sheepish expression genuine. "Oh, I, um" He waved across the debris strewn office towards the cell door, wide open and not from the blast. "Those locks are very unsecure."

"How long have you been able to come and go as you please?"

Zane snorted. "As I please? Yeah right. If I went anywhere, you and your taser would soon find me. I learned that long ago." True. His current "escape" record was somewhere between two and four hours and, excepting that cabin of his, never out of town.

She frowned, trying to work it out. "So, you just let yourself be locked up?" Jo hated that she couldn't completely erase the disappointment in her voice. That time she'd kept him locked up for a week while they did sonic cleaning had been one of the highlights of her professional career. It didn't count if he'd let her.

Weirdly, Zane didn't jump at the chance to twist the knife. Instead he just shrugged. "It's not so bad. Quieter than the labs. Plenty to read." He paused, obviously uncertain at bringing up the journals. It may have been the possible head injury, but Jo didn't remind him exactly why there was plenty to read. She had other priorities.

"Temporal? How could you know that?" She took in the state of the window and her position when Zane tackled her, folding her arms across her chest so he wouldn't see her hands shaking. Combat was one thing. Danger, another. But blown away by a window when you had no idea it was coming? That was not the way for a soldier to go.

Zane's jaw clenched. "There's some things too nutso for even me, Lupo. That" He pointed out the now-empty window frame. "was a temporal wave and someone in town is way more dangerous than you think I am."

Jo stared at him. He didn't shuffle or flinch under her scrutiny but then, he rarely did. From any perspective, Zane Donovan had just saved her life. Which was an anomaly. Anomalies should not be left unattended in Eureka. "Come with me, Donovan."

"I did not do this!"

"Maybe. But you figured it out. Which means that I need you with me." She turned, climbing over the debris in the entryway. He'd follow, Zane always did. Never could pass up a chance to ogle. Jo glanced back over her shoulder, catching Zane's head return to a forward and up direction. Jackass.

Outside, they found a disaster area. While the buildings had protected people from the worst of the blast, there were nevertheless a ton of injuries. Upon seeing them exit the jail, Carter dodged through the crowd, his eyes intent on Zane. Jo understood why he wanted to yell at Zane but, now that she thought about it, she really didn't think he did this. Not his style.

Jo stepped in between the oncoming Sheriff & Zane. She could feel the latter's surprise directed at her back as she greeted Carter. "We need to head to GD. Have you got this?"

Carter opened his mouth, but apparently changed his mind before speaking. He glared over her shoulder as he answered. "Yeah. Let me know."

Her car, being parked away from the festivities and behind a tall, wide building made it through the event unscathed. She gave the roof of her vehicle a nonchalant caress before getting in. She ignored the smirk that Zane didn't have the will to fully suppress. Before he could start being like he always was, Jo cut him off with a question.

"What do I need to know about temporal waves?"

* * *

On one hand, it made sense that Jo had stopped the Sheriff from tearing him a new one. She did need his super-genius brain unharmed. But on the other hand, Lupo never stood between him and anything she thought he deserved. Allowing him to see the gentle brush of her fingers over her car, that was karma paying him back for all his good deeds. Or not-so-bad deeds. Whatever.

So, he told her everything he knew about temporal mechanics without a single innuendo knowing that it would totally bug her and that she had earned it for holding off the Sheriff. Usually, the only time he & Lupo shared a vehicle, he was handcuffed or tied up and one time, thrown in the trunk of Fargo's car. Having a civil conversation really passed the time.

For an ass-kissing jerk, GD Director Doctor Douglas Fargo was one lucky bastard. Wholly uninjured, he'd beaten them to GD, an Einstein wig & mustache thrown on his desk. As Jo and Zane entered his office, he was in the middle of placating General Mansfield who immediately focused on Jo.

"Good, you've got him. We need to find out what he di-"

"It wasn't Zane." Jo and Fargo said simultaneously.

Fargo tilted his head at Jo, clearly curious about what prompted her defense but answering for them both. "Temporal meddling like we've detected would need some test firings. They would emit exotic particles with a very unique signature. I recalibrated GD's sensors when I got here to detect those particles in case anyone responsible was stupid enough to come back here." He waved to Zane. "No alarms. Not Zane. Moving on. Lupo, what do you have?"

Zane couldn't speak for anyone else in the room but he always found Fargo's brief flashes of competence freaky and disturbing. Jo blinked a few times before beginning her report. The General, of course, did not apologize for wrongly accusing Zane.

At some point, Fargo handed him a datapad telling him to coordinate with Parrish. Now, some weird electromagnetic activity accompanied the temporal waves; they'd even gotten some reports of red lightening in GD. Back on her phone, Jo moved away from the rotunda windows. Zane, as casually as possible, placed himself between wall of glass and her anyway. Lupo paused her conversation a moment, gracing him with a half-frown. Thankfully, she decided that he wasn't insulting her or something. When Zane glanced up at Fargo, he noticed the General watching him, closely eying the distance between him and Lupo. Zane made a gesture like a whip cracking.

* * *

Jo caught Zane's gesture out of the corner of her eye. Couldn't leave him be for five freaking minutes and he was taunting Generals. She should have known better than to take his brief moment of chivalry at face value. She ended her call, hoping to head of the inevitable explosion.

"Oh crap." Fargo stared at his computer in horror, breathing heavily.

"Doctor Fargo?" The General prompted.

Fargo gulped, gazing up at the General. "The temporal wave, sir. It broke containment on the ELF."

"What?"

"Whoa, what's an ELF and why does it need to be contained?" Jo's question caused both men to shuffle a bit. Before the General could respond, Zane answered for them.

"A white-list project." At the General's furious stare, Zane added smirking. "I hear stories."

Mansfield huffed in a way Jo knew signaled a yelling fit that Donovan probably deserved but wouldn't do any good. Once again, Fargo intervened. "We could use him."

Without taking his eyes off Zane, the General responded. "It's on you."

Jo held her breath. Fargo maybe a sniveling coward of a boss but he knew how to bet on a winner. It's how he finagled the Director's job in the fallout from Dr. Stark's death and it's how he had kept that job. Jo waited, not letting herself think too much about why she cared.

"Fine. Come with me-"

"You rat bastard!" Tess Fontana entered the Director's office followed by Carter. She rolled to halt in front of Zane, finger in his face. "Just because I took you off my team, good riddance by the way, doesn't give you the right to destroy months of work getting your jollies out Donovan!"

Carter, noticing the other people present, explained. "Tiny had a bit of a power array issue. Minimal damage."

Wrong thing to say. "Minimal! This jackass ruined half the system's components!"

Zane ignored Fontana, but he'd never paid her much attention anyway except when it annoyed the Sheriff. Instead, he spoke to Fargo. "That testing, could it have affected containment before the main pulse hit us?"

Tess halted mid-angry-hand-wave. "Containment for what?"

"The ELF." Fargo typed rapidly, studying the results a moment before replying. "Yeah, there were several mini-pulses in the last two days." He shook his head, speaking to the General. "It could have been loose this whole time."

"A white-list project?" Now Fontana's quieter fury directed itself toward her boss. "You, you brought a white-list project into my Section Five and don't even give me a heads up. You paranoid-"

"He was under orders, Doctor Fontana." The General's rebuke snapped her mouth shut.

As her boss crossed the room, he attempted in his distinctly Fargo way to mollify her. "The project has been in a specially shielded room. Your increased project reporting frequency was so I could ensure the project did not negatively impair your work. Which it did NOT until some lunatic and their temporal meddling ruined my containment!" Fargo took a deep breath. "So please stop yelling at me."

Tess's jaw clenched and unclenched a few times before nodding. "Fine. What's the plan?"

"The General and I will go down the ELF lab and determine the extent of the problem. You three-" Fargo pointed to Tess, Jo and Zane. "be on the lookout for positronic build-up and keep people out of affected areas."

Now, Carter spoke up. "If there could be injuries, we should let Alison know."

Tess nodded. "I'll tell her on my way to inspect the back-up power system." She and Carter left together.

Jo took a step closer to Zane. "We'll inform Parrish on our way to the main server array." Zane raised his eyebrows at her but Jo wasn't stupid enough to leave him alone with a grumpy General and Fargo or worse unattended to pull a stupid prank while everyone's attentions were focused elsewhere.

She left the Director's office quickly, confident that if Zane Donovan had a free opportunity to taunt her, he'd take advantage. A voice piped up from behind her left shoulder. "Alone with me twice in one day Lupo. A guy could wonder." Jo sighed. Yahtzee.

"No one's keeping you here Donovan."

Now matching her stride, he looked up from his datapad. "Technically, I'm still in holding for 'disrupting an experiment'." His eyes narrowed. "And, you're not above reminding me of that with great physical emphasis." Jo decided to ignore his typical ability to make her want to demonstrate 'great physical emphasis'. She's certain her preferred definition would make him loose that damn smirk fast. Of course, he'd be insufferable after.

Zane apparently noticed the clenching of her fists. As they took their final steps to Parrish's lab, he leaned over closer, whispering. "I could make a run for it, if you're feelin' ansty."

If her foot extended a little too far out on the next step and if Zane stumbled over it and into the doorway of the lab, causing everyone to turn and stare, that was just ungraceful of him. Jo breezed past her expletive mumbling companion, heading straight for Parrish.

"Lupo. Donovan." Dr. Parrish took in Zane's unbound state but, wisely, made no comment. "What's the situation?"

"Fargo's been experimenting with anti-matter ELF generation. That blast wave interfered with the containment. We need to be on the lookout for-"

"Positronic lightening." At their expressions, Parrish motioned them in the direction of a bay of monitors. "We've seen several incidents already. I had feared it a side effect of a more complex" Jo's mind substituted 'more dangerous'. "series of temporal experiments then we had detected thus far." Parrish frowned, speaking to Zane. "Fargo really did this?"

"Yeah, white-list project." Zane and Parrish shared a look of disbelieving envy. Jo attempted to cover her grin with one hand, only to have Zane catch the motion. GD scientists loved to dismiss Fargo but Jo had come to...appreciate her boss's talents such as they were. Sometimes, Jo thought the only reason Fargo hadn't been assassinated was because of moments like this when the scientist outperformed the sycophant. Twisting the knife a bit, she let Zane see her open smirk enjoying the way his body tensed.

When Jo pulled herself away from her nonverbal taunting, Dr. Parrish waited pointedly blank-faced. In certain respects, there are no secrets in a town full of hyper-observant super-geniuses. Jo snapped orders. "Keep us informed of any major incidents." She hiked a thumb in Zane's direction. "He needs to inspect the servers for any data loss. Let us know if there's any of this, lightening, building up in that area."

"Of course." With that, Dr. Parrish moved away to berate a junior researcher for their poor data display configuration. Jo and Zane exited the lab with admonishments to 'properly account for human visual acuity in the conveyance of critical information' ringing in the air.

While Jo gave a prayer of thanks that the walk down to the server bay lacked any excitement attributable to positrons or Zane, she knew the man well enough to keep a lookout for possible lines of attack. The stiffness of his stance and pointed ignoring of a chance to hit on her meant vengeance of some kind brewed in that super-genius mind.

She winced at his back as he went straight to work upon entry to the server room. Zane rarely focused on anything any longer than he absolutely had to. Except when pissed. Mocking his scientific acumen was always playing with fire. Unabashedly fun fire. Jo rarely let herself back down from dangerous fun.

Parrish's voice crackled over the intercom. "Posi(static)moving(static)(static)get(static)."

"Zane?"

His hands moved deftly over the screen of the pad. "Interference, probably from a positronic build-up."

"Here?"

"No, two floors down." Zane raised his head to direct his sarcasm more pointedly only to freeze. Jo noticed that his face glowed an odd red color. In the distance, she could have sworn she heard Carter yelling. Jo turned only to be once again tackled by Zane. For good reason, too. A red flash blinded Jo as she and Zane landed in a heap.

Jo mentally gave a small prayer of thanks that at least she hadn't passed out this time. Not that her situation was much improved. It wasn't that Jo hadn't touched or been touched by Zane in all the time she'd known him. Certain physical contact had been required to apprehend him on multiple occasions. But, in all those instances, Jo had ensured that Zane was too angry to pay attention to what said contact did to her. Now, he pressed on top of her without the shielding of their usual insults and supremely confident in his own attractiveness. Which would not do. "You've got to stop this, Donovan."

His smirk dominated Jo's vision. "You know me and bad habits."

"Ahem, guys?" Jo lifted her head to see Carter standing over their entangled feet. "The lightning's gone."

Zane sighed, increasing the pressure on Jo's chest a split-second before he stood. He did not hold out a hand to help Jo up and Jo would not have taken it. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Thanks for the heads-up Carter."

"Radio's out."

"Really?" Zane's sarcasm faltered at the Sheriff's expression. Jo felt a familiar and amused flutter in her chest. From the moment Zane hit Eureka, he never for one second underestimated Sheriff Jack Carter. In fact, back before, well a lot of things, Jo had maybe found that perceptive streak in Zane just a tiny bit attractive.

Carter pretended not to notice Zane's reaction. "We need to head down to Section Five." He grinned ominously at Zane. "Fargo has a plan." Jo swore to buy Jack a beer tonight as payment for putting that look of terror on Zane's face.

* * *

Zane understood normal people weren't looking forward to walking in a room filled with positronic lightening. As he and the Sheriff geared up, he sent a thank-you to the universe that he led a supremely abnormal life. If Zane had known how much fun averting disasters could be, he would have put forth a lot more effort not to be locked up when they occurred.

Carter noticing his expression, attempted to get Zane focused on the danger. "Andy's going to draw away most of the lightening but we're still going to get some hits."

"Great." And it was. Danger free of reprimands or tasers.

"Do you have any normal hobbies?"

Zane found exasperated Carter no end of hilarious. "I play a mean game of Yahtzee."

"Yacht or Yahtzee scoring?" Jo's voice interjected, causing the Sheriff to sigh and Zane to stare. He actually did play a mean game of Yahtzee, loved playing with his mom as a kid in fact. Of course, she played and played well because Jo Lupo could never be less than thoroughly awesome at anything. Of course, it was just one more thing about her than made Zane want her until his balls were permanently blue. Damn her.

To cover, he answered eyebrows waggling. "Original recipe. It's easier to cheat."

"Figures." She shook her head, turning around. But in the reflection of a computer monitor, Zane saw just the tiniest grin. Yahtzee.

"Zane." Carter demanded his attention. "Can you do this?"

For the first time since arriving in Eureka, someone wasn't blackmailing him to save the day or making him clean up his own damn messes. No, he'd be cleaning up the Director's mess of his own free will, which had to count for something. He met the Sheriff's eyes seriously. "Yeah."

Fargo appeared, holding a compound bow. "Gentlemen, we're about ready. Any propellant would ignite in that room so we're going old school today. Who is the shooter?"

The Sheriff took one look at the bow and pointed to Zane with a disbelieving shake of his head. Zane grinned maniacally as he took it causing Fargo to step back. He covered for the action by barking out instructions. "Now, after Andy's drawn the charge, the drill needs to get down 2000 feet into the bedrock for the ELF to be dissipated. Then, you need to shoot this" He gestured to the bow and arrow. "into the dump coil-."

Carter snickered. At their looks, he explained. "I'm sorry but every time you say it."

"Dirty, right?" Zane agreed with the Sheriff, grin wide.

"Guys!" Jo's eyebrow raised, arms crossed, giving all the signs of a Lupo who has just about had enough of your bullshit. Zane tilted his head in her direction. "Killjoy." Carter shrugged his shoulders, way too smart to agree with Zane in front of his former deputy.

The Sheriff waved off any further comment from Fargo. "We got it. Dump Coil. Wire. Ground." He and Zane moved towards the lab doors, standing next to the waiting Deputy Andy.

"Zane!" He slumped, turning to see Jo approaching him purposefully. Something in him snapped and wilted. He'd saved her life twice. He'd been cooperative and helpful and was currently geared up to saved the goddamn day. She was not going to ruin it.

"Lupo, I won't fuck this up alright? Dump coil's huge. I could hit it blindfolded at three times the distance. So relax." Zane called over to Fargo at the door control. "Let's do this." When the doors opened to reveal a room swathed in red lightening, Zane did not hesitate.

What followed was loud, bright and exhilarating. Andy drew the lightening. Jack operated the drill. When Zane pulled the bowstring taunt, releasing the arrow, he pictured Jo not contrite with his victory or even apologetic for doubting him. No, Zane saw her hidden smile directed to a computer instead of him. The ozone making his chest tight, he vowed. One day Lupo. One day.

When Zane and Carter exited the lab flush with victory, she was gone.

* * *

Jo spent the first few hours after the ELF had dispersed as busy as possible. Anything to block out the image of Zane, arm pulled back as he shot that arrow upwards. Saving the day like he couldn't be electrocuted at any moment. Honestly, what was Fargo thinking? Zane should be in GD lock-up where, she had checked, absolutely no incidents of positronic lightening had occurred.

Jo risked a glance across the rotunda, where the man in question directed repairs to the inter-company data-grid like he hadn't walked into a room full of red, flashing death a few hours ago. When Fargo had given their report to the General, Jo had seen Zane's expression. Jo knew with precognitive certainty that Zane would no more be able to resist repeating this experience than he was able to stop himself from hitting on anything with breasts. Once he realized that she had no cause to lock him up for saving the day, Jo would never hear the end of it.

As she ordered her team into clean-up details, Jo heard his smarmy horn-dog voice in her head. "Why yes Lupo, I did blow-up that out of control experiment. Too bad you can't lock me up for it. Perhaps you'd like to put your handcuffs to better use." Absent the release of arresting Zane, she just might have to deal with her definition of 'great physical emphasis'. She might just make Zane deal with it too which, judging by the lust in his eyes sometimes, he would enjoy the hell of. And after? She swallowed, after would suck.

"Hey Jo." She turned, grateful for Carter's presence and a distraction.

"Carter. How are things in town?" He'd left after taking care of the ELF. With Deputy Andy down for the count, there was no one else to oversee the Main Street clean-up.

"Great. My office looks like a bomb went off in it but, great."

"At least it wasn't an actual bomb this time."

Carter looked across the rotunda to where Zane stood, directing scientists with casual authority. "No, it wasn't." He shrugged off the dark turn of thought. "How's GD? And you, almost getting zapped?" Carter didn't point out, almost except for Zane saving her. But then one of the reasons Carter was Carter was because he didn't have to.

Jo ignored the hint. "GD's fine. Singed in places. The infirmary is an absolute wreck. Tess mentioned you had stayed back to help Dr. Blake." Jo had seen Alison and Jack after, before Carter returned to town. They'd hovered around one another like teenagers, way more than usual. Two could play this game.

"Yeah, it was bad." Carter shuffled his feet guiltily before continuing. "I may have, um, kissed Alison."

Long time coming, Jo couldn't help but think. Still, like always he had the worst timing when it came to Dr. Blake. "What about Tess?"

"Um, yeah. Last night, I may have asked her to move in. With me." Carter trailed off weakly.

"Jack." They didn't really do hugs, but Jo figured he needed a pat on the shoulder at least. Carter gave her a mopey-grin before changing the subject.

"So, Zane the hero. Who would have thought?"

"Yeah, he tackled me away from that window just as the blast came through." Jo tried to shrug it off but Jack, as always, honed in on the uncomfortable truths.

"Window?" He frowned. "The initial blast? Why wasn't he locked up? I left him locked up, didn't I?"

Jo fidgeted a moment, knowing this would be a tricky conversation. "About that, Carter….."

* * *

Lupo had been staring at him for the past freaking hour. He'd done good today and the Enforcer had no right to rain on his parade.

As Zane assisted in the repairs, he thought furiously. For two years, Zane had considered himself solely responsible for generating excitement in this town only to find himself jailed and ostracized for his trouble. But saving the day was plenty exciting and, as yet another scientist gave him a "Good work Donovan" on their way by, the payoff orders of magnitude improved. Two years wasted. He shook his head. Moron.

Zane's fingers jammed down on the screen. Lupo was looking at him again. Who was she kidding? He had excellent peripheral vision. She & Carter were talking, probably about what to do with him. Zane focused intently on his datapad as they exchanged some pretty emphatic gestures. Zane huffed in resignation. Carter might make an argument for him but he'd go with his former deputy in the end.

Abruptly, Carter walked away from Lupo, headed his way. Zane went back to his work. It wouldn't really fool the Sheriff but, hey, appearances. Carter came to halt a few paces away, stance deceptively casual.

"So, cell locks?" Carter inquired like Lupo hadn't already told him everything.

Zane nodded across the room to where said woman rallied her troops. "She's got me writing a report on it. You'll get a copy."

"I've had those locks for a year and a half, Zane." Zane didn't know why Carter bothered to ask. Ever since bringing him back from his cabin, Carter had understood what few in town ever bothered to figure out: that Zane was exactly where he chose to be. Besides, that same brand of locks had played a major role in his first FBI esc-Wait a minute.

Zane narrowed his eyes at the Sheriff. "Who picked out those poor excuses for security anyway?" The Sheriff shrugged as if he had not spent the last year and a half counting on Zane's rumored to be nonexistent self-restraint.

Carter did after a moment reply. "Zoe helped." Zane flinched. If anything Zoe Carter had every reason to put him in a cage for the rest of his life. Carter nodded at the movement, oddly satisfied.

Remembering the way Jo had stilled underneath him, accusing him of trying to destroy this town, Zane pointed across the room. "Could you have let her know?"

"Oh, I could have." Carter's voice possessed a familiar hardness. The Sheriff may have bet on him not running but that didn't cut him any more slack. Zane stared across the rotunda at Lupo. Her Donovan radar pinging, Jo turned to them, eyebrow raised across the distance. The only sign of her gratitude was that the gesture completely lacked its usual derision. The Sheriff clamped a hand on Zane's shoulder. "I look forward to your report." Zane acknowledged the warning with a nod. The Sheriff walked off hands in his pockets.

Lupo approached him, preemptively suspicious. "What did Carter want?"

"The usual."

She paused for a moment, probably filing the exchange in a mental folder labeled 'Donovan does something weird. Next time there's an explosion, tie him up and ask him about it'. Zane waited, the day wouldn't be complete without the Enforcer flexing her muscles (not in a good way).

"I just wanted to -" She hesitantly stuttered out the words, staring at the floor. Zane's breath caught in his throat. "I just wanted to say thank you for, um, your quick thinking today." Jo paused, picking at her jacket cuff. "At the jail. And the server room."

It wasn't contrition or apology but her statement exposed more vulnerability than Zane had ever imagined Jo possessed. Now that he's seen it, Zane found himself missing the Enforcer. Which was insane, missing head injuries and tasers. Jo Lupo shouldn't ever look like this, that waver in her voice. Zane opened his mouth, hoping his mind would supply just the right jackass remark to bring back his Lupo only to be cut off by a shout.

"Lupo! Donovan! Over here." The General called from the rotunda entrance by the Director's office. Lupo's face transformed, Enforcer mask (and holy shit, it was a mask!) sliding into place. As they strode across the rotunda together, for the first time in his life Zane felt genuinely grateful to General Mansfield.

* * *

In some respects, Jo knew she shouldn't be upset with the General. Zane's face in the moments after her thanks, she didn't need to look at him to see it coming. Jo resented that part of her too honorable to let his actions go unremarked. Because if not for the General's interruption, Zane would have done what he always did. Take the inch she'd given up and demand a mile.

She huffed, earning a sidelong glance from Zane as they entered Fargo's office. Why couldn't the General wait? If Zane had gotten off his usual inappropriate zinger, then when Jo looked back on the event she'd have absolutely no chance of romanticizing what he'd done. Romanticizing Zane Donovan would never lead anywhere but tears. She sighed again. As they came to a halt in front of the General and Fargo, she shot a look at Zane hoping to convey the importance of not messing with Mansfield. Jo stopped short though, as Zane was frowning thoughtfully at her.

Once again, the General ended the moment. "Dr. Donovan, I read your report on the temporal pulse." Jo's eyebrows went up. General Mansfield continued as if hell hadn't just frozen over. "The Director and I were especially concerned about the implications you pointed out regarding the shield."

"It's the only way they could have gotten away, sir." By the time security teams made it to the hidden warehouse in the woods, it had been cleaned out. Even after a search of the surrounding forest, her security teams had found nothing and no one. Jo frowned. As Security Chief any 'implications' regarding the town shield were her business.

"Sirs?"

Fargo answered, eyes on Zane. "Donovan pointed out that the perpetrators had to use overhead coverage in order to evade our teams on so tight a schedule. Do you really think you can replicate the effect?"

Jo shut her eyes. The EM shield was supposed to be impenetrable to satellite scans. If someone had devised a way around that, well, Eureka's security became nonexistent. Jo directed her next question to Zane. "Replicate?"

He casually shrugged. "It's a tuning issue with the EM field. Took some digging but I found the backdoor in the shield generators that they used. This means anyone who knew when and how to look could see in here. If we tuned the satellites instead, we'd have coverage in the woods and no one else would be the wiser." That was...brilliant actually.

The General watched Zane closely for a few moments before nodding slightly. "Get to work on it, Donovan."

"I can't, sir." That idiot was constitutionally incapable of not screwing a good thing up. Jo moved to berate him into submission only to be stopped by a gesture from the General.

"Can't or won't?" Mansfield did not appear happy that Zane failed to appreciate his magnanimous gesture of good faith. Jo crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that Zane for once in his life pretend to be cooperative.

"Can't, sir. Only people with their own labs are allowed projects of that clearance."

Few things are more annoying than Zane Donovan when he is one-hundred percent correct. At least for a moment, the General recognized him for something other than blowing shi-

"Why doesn't this man have a lab?"

Fargo responded in the slow even voice you use to speak to children and dangerous animals. "You forbid it, sir. You said 'it would be a cold day in hell before that lunatic" Fargo pointed at Zane, mimicking the General's stance absurdly well. "would have free reign at GD'."

"Well, it's snowing outside and I want him in a lab yesterday Fargo!" With that proclamation, the General stomped out of the room. Fargo and Jo shared a shocked look before Zane's voice caught their attention.

"I just got my own lab?" Zane took a few deep breaths, repeating himself with increased bafflement. "I just got my own lab?" He blinked. "And General Mansfield gave it to me?"

In spite of herself, Jo smiled at him. "Looks like it." Now, Zane eyed the Director, stance wary. Fargo's response was to causally inquire, "Was there a space that you had your eye on?"

"Who-hoo!" Next thing Jo knew, Zane had swooped her up in an embrace and twirled her around several times before realizing what he was doing and with whom. Zane almost dropped her he let go so quickly. He cleared his throat as Jo attempted to straighten her jacket and not let Zane see her blushing. "Is that lab by the cooling towers still free? It would be wicked handy if I had to do any serious computing."

"Of course." Fargo, who had noticed Jo's reaction, made a quick series of taps on his personal assistant before nodding in her direction with a nervous twinkle in his eye. "Lupo will escort you there and help get you set up." Then, her sneaking coward of a boss disappeared out the door of his own office.

* * *

Lupo's silence made him nervous. Sure, he should not have lost it and embraced her like that. That smile was just a 'Congratulations, random GD scientist' smile and Zane really should not have pushed his luck. He clenched his fists as they walked, fingers still tingling from the smooth material of her jacket. His shoulders burned where her hands had rested, too surprised to push him away.

Zane risked a side-long glance only to see her jaw clench. Yeah, she was pissed.

They paused at the door to his lab. His lab. In another universe, where he somehow was even cooler, Zane knows it's possible that his hands don't shake when he hits the door control to his own lab for the first time. Not this universe, though. Lupo, miraculously, says nothing as Zane enters, his mind instantly cataloging what needs to go and what he needs to requisition.

He's working up the courage to apologize for the whole touching-when-they-weren't-dying-thing when Jo finally bursts his bubble. "Don't screw this up."

Zane whirled on her, rumbling through clenched teeth. "I didn't screw up today!"

"No, you did not." Her quiet but emphatic tone stopped his anger short. Zane's chest tightened at Jo's probing expression. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd never paid enough attention to her eyes. She broke the stare with a deep breath. "Send me a list of any equipment you need. I'll review it and meet with you prior to approving the requisitions." Her eyes roamed around the room a moment. "Nice choice, Donovan."

With that, Jo Lupo exited his lab with her usual unhurried gait. If Zane stared at her ass a little longer than could be deemed appropriate, well, he had been a very good boy lately.

He smirked at the retreating figure. But not too good. It would confuse Lupo.

**THE END (for now)**

* * *

Coming soon...

_As Jo clicked the handcuffs into place, she noticed Alison hovering around them scanner pointed at Zane's head. Whatever the scanner said, Alison frowned. "His brain is overheating."_

_Zane smirked over his shoulder at Alison. "Are you sayin' that I'm hot?"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Notes:** See Chapter One

**Rating:** M, for this chapter just to be safe (Damn Rage Virus!)

**Notes: **1) A reviewer, Sydnew, commented on a couple of things I thought should be elaborated. The Zoe storyline is NOT going away. Hopefully, it will make sense given the new alt-timeline context. Also, in my version of this timeline, General Mansfield pretty much owns Fargo and Eureka (which will be dealt with also). The General is the one who sent Zane to Eureka from prison and, as such, he's the only one who can kick him out again. Hope that explains the background a bit better. PS - Thanks Sydnew for the grammar notes! I fixed them.

2) Writing this chapter from the perspective of two people fully succumbing to the Rage virus was a bit difficult, especially in terms of moving the plot along. I made a general rule in writing this fic that if Jo and Zane didn't have a good reason to know something that we, as viewers, all know then they wouldn't. Hopefully, the Rage incident is still semi-clear but I won't be simply recounting the 'fixes' for the episodes. If it's really confusing as I've presented it, please, click 'review' and let me know.

* * *

**Chapter Two – All the Rage**

Three days. For three days she and Zane had not fought, not screamed at one another and stunningly not broken their odd armistice. Jo had made it a point to not avoid him, as Zane wouldn't leave that unremarked either. Jo huffed, eyes pretending to look at the datapad in her hand. Not like she had a choice.

Jo frowned across her desk at the man in question, seated patiently. In the past two years, Jo Lupo had learned always to be suspicious of a patient Zane Donovan. Aside from his first painful betrayal, he had raised and dashed her hopes far too many times to count. Under her impassive stare, Zane stiffened in his chair.

Jo went back to the datapad in her hand. Zane's requisition list of equipment for his new lab demonstrated surprising caution. Jo possessed enough familiarity with the EM shield development and specifications to recognize a few items, confirming that he was taking his assignment from the General seriously. If she hadn't witnessed the tremble of his fingers as he opened his lab for the first time, if she hadn't seen him vibrate with excitement at the privilege, if she didn't remember his grip around her waist and how tight his shoulders felt under her hands...Jo shifted in her chair. Still, additional verification was not beyond her purvey.

"I see that you requested additional pulse generators."

Zane sniffed, hands moving from his lap to the chair arms and back. "Those Mark10s aren't really cut out for the signals I need to duplicate. Even with converters, they'll wear out quick."

"What about the unidirectional plasma shield and thruster coils?"

"Parrish." Zane shrugged like the name explained everything. Which it did. Dr. Neil Parrish had been one of the few people who consistently requested Donovan on his team and who had demonstrated a remarkable ability to keep Zane in line. "I may have, um, promised to help with my old projects. For him." Zane covered his obvious respect for the good doctor with a cocky grin. "Not like anyone else could do my work."

Jo's hands tightened around the datapad. "I see." After thinking a moment, she bit the bullet and placed her thumb in the blinking square on the screen. The computer requested confirmation of her approval and it was done. In a day or so, Zane would have a fully outfitted research lab at GD. Jo made a mental note to increase her rounds in that area, just as a proactive measure. "Very well." She stood, reaching across her desk to return the pad.

Zane's brow furrowed as he also rose. "That's it?"

She shouldn't antagonize him, but maybe a little test was in order. "Were you expecting something else, Donovan?" Jo braced for the standard jackass attitude. Zane Donovan lived for openings to taunt her. At first, she thought he'd go for it. Zane's mouth opened but abruptly shut. He gave Jo a knowing cocky half-grin.

"Nope." His lips hit the last syllable with enough emphasis to draw Jo's eye. Her gaze darted back to his face but damnit he'd seen. Zane let the innuendo remain unspoken, taking the datapad from her hand as if he wasn't totally Up To Something.

Jo frowned at his back as Zane exited her office, passing a Fargo who did not acknowledge him. Fargo halted abruptly, tensing at her expression. "Something wrong Lupo?"

"Donovan's acting weird." Jo nibbled her lip, staring past Fargo to where Zane disappeared from view around a corner.

Fargo nodded. "Thanks for the heads-up. I need you at a demonstration. Come with me." With that, Fargo hurried off leaving Jo to dodge around her desk and catch up.

As she matched her boss's pace, Jo figured a little explanation was due. "Sir?"

"Mansfield requested an update on the NLWP project. Your military background would be useful to me in evaluating their progress." Fargo stopped, forcing the scientists around them to weave away mid-stride. "Unless Donovan requires immediate attention?"

"Ah, no. I'm actually interested in the progress on the NLWPs." They began walking again, headed toward Section Three and Parrish's lab. "Besides, it appears Parrish has requested that Donovan finish out his work on any open projects."

Fargo smiled. "Excellent. I won't tolerate any whining from either about the shake-up." As they turned a corner, two maintenance personnel on a ladder were hard at work. Fargo bounced on his heels a little at the sight. "Check it out, Lupo."

The Director's absurdly cheerful face covered most of the poster, thumbs-up extended into the foreground. Across the bottom were the words "THINK GLOBAL. ACT DYNAMIC." Like most of Fargo's ideas, it was a perfect blend of over-the-top enthusiasm and woefully inept execution. Jo tilted her head, attempting to generate an appropriate response. "Um, wow."

"Excellent." Fargo gave her a wide grin before turning to resume their journey. Behind the Director a man in a lab coat, carrying a beaker of red liquid, froze in terror. The sudden stop caused the liquid to slosh out onto his sleeve and the floor.

"Dr. Fargo!" The man crouched, wiping up the spill with his already sopping shirt-sleeve. "I'll, um, have that report to you by the end of the day, sir. I swear!"

Fargo stepped around the scene, Jo in tow. He called over his shoulder. "See that you do, Hansen."

Jo sighed. Fargo wasn't a half bad boss, but the half that was bad was really, really annoying. As they finished up their journey, other GD scientists hurried out of their way, avoiding Jo's eyes in case she felt any of them warranted the Director's attentions. At the entrance to Parrish's lab waited the man himself. As someone who prided herself on a reputation for omnipotence, Jo never failed to be impressed with Parrish's ability to always be ready for their 'surprise' inspections.

"Dr. Parrish, we were curious as to your progress on the NLWPs. If you don't mind?"

Parrish's face tightened at Fargo's request. "Another demonstration. How productive." He turned away, hitting the lab door control. Knowing they would receive no further invitation, Jo and Fargo followed him.

Parrish's lab only loosely resembled the clean and tidy image of a research facility. Tables were strewn with disassembled prototypes, a few components still smoking. Several racks of computers hummed and sputtered. One power conduit rained sparks down in an abandoned corner. People in lab coats roamed to and fro, rotating dials and frowning at screens. In a flash of blue fabric Jo saw Zane. Of course, lab-coats were beneath Donovan.

He stood over a particularly charred group of components, clipboard in hand. Although Zane did not look up when the door opened, Jo knew he saw them by tension in his shoulders. He had excellent peripheral vision. As Parrish made his excuses, Jo tried to work out what the hell was up with her resident super-genius trouble-maker.

Was he nervous because the NLWPs were behind schedule? Because he was up to something and had counted on this lab time to get to it? Would her & Fargo's presence increase or decrease the likelihood of an incident? Zane was holding himself back from what Jo couldn't tell. Thinking of all those times she'd had to wrestle him into handcuffs, Jo mused. Restraint never came easy to Zane. Why now? What for? When Zane finally did cross the room to acknowledge their presence, Jo's fingers tightened behind her back.

* * *

Zane's fingers tightened around the pen when she walked in the room. After that meeting, which Lupo had spent most of stone-faced and silent, Zane figured he had several hours before he had to deal with her again. Twenty-four months of her suspicion, you'd think that he'd be used to it by now. But, aside from the brief maybe moment in his lab, she never let up these last three days. Watching him, waiting for his inevitable screw-up. Having her in the same room made Zane's skin itch.

As he crossed the room to prep for the demonstration, Jo leaned in to whisper over Parrish's shoulder. "We just need to see what you got."

Before Zane could stop himself, he interjected. "Anytime you want, Lupo." She rolled her eyes and ignored him but Zane could see her shoulders relax. Freaking weirdo. He spends the last three days actually being nice, well non-insulting, and it's only when he pisses her off again that she quits acting like he's a bomb waiting to go off. His clipboard impacted the lab table with a crack.

He picked up the beanbag gun with a look at Parrish, who continued his explanations. While Parrish probably had equal cause to shoot their boss in the face, Zane was less likely to be reprimanded for it. After all, what else do you expect from him?

Parrish & Fargo bantered through the plasma shield demo until they got to the catch.

Zane hiked up the gun, cradling it in his shoulder. At the sight, Lupo's voice rang out with warning. "Zane."

"Relax, it just shoots beanbags." With that, he pulled the trigger knowing that Fargo wou-Holy shit. Zane blinked, lowering the gun and half-grinning. Jo's fist around the beanbag had appeared about five inches in front of the Director's face. She repeated his name, tone dangerous. "Zane!"

As she lowered her fist, Fargo added his two cents. "Not cool!" Huh. It said something for his improved status that Fargo took no further action. Zane couldn't say the same for Jo though. She intentionally stepped between himself and Parrish on her way past, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. He knew that look; it said 'Later, loser'. Well, he hadn't been handcuffed in days and, damn it all if that catch hadn't made him miss it a little. She casually dropped the beanbag on the table as they moved on the RSS device.

Which was a freaking disaster. The RSS had never worked. Parrish knew it but he'd been hoping to end on the high note of the Immobilization Mines. Unfortunately, their boss didn't have the patience. Fargo huffed and criticized and almost caused another mess before disappearing with orders to turn over their work so far. Jo, one last look at Zane over her shoulder, followed the Director out.

Zane and Parrish shared a look. "That could have gone better." Parrish's nostrils flared before he replied. "Yes." Zane's former supervisor stared at the door a moment before picking up an immobilization mine and leaving the room, probably to go plead his case with their jackass boss. Zane figured it was a lost cause. Once this town wrote you off, that was it. No second chances.

Zane went back to the fried Sky Cruiser steering assembly, clipboard in hand. But Jo's stupid eyes and Fargo's stupid temper tantrum left Zane unable to focus. He gave it another ten minutes before slamming the clipboard down.

Zane approached a Parrish who had returned with an oddly pleased expression on his smug face. "Gonna go clear my head." Parrish could read between the lines, 'I may be back; I may not be. Deal with it'. His supervisor wrinkled his nose. "Fine."

Yeah, sorry dude. Shoulda checked with you, your royal highness, before getting promoted. Before trying not to be the town loser. Sorry to upset your precious little lab order. Dick. Zane blew out of GD, motorcycle accelerating.

* * *

Jo stomped down to Fargo's office. Like she didn't have enough to do today. There was a new DoD historian to welcome and get set-up. She had five different tests to coordinate and Zane to keep an eye on. Now, Fargo was apparently having one of his paranoid fits. At this rate, she'd be working late. Again. Damnit. Today was Tuesday. Bubble bath day. What did Fargo have against bubble baths?

Carter waited with Fargo, apparently having been invited to help. Because Jo so desperately needed assistance in wrangling a bunch of paranoid researchers. Her eyes widened at the state of Fargo's suit, recognizing the gel webbing from the briefing on the immobilization mines.

Mid-rant, Fargo did not stop for her entrance. "I will not tolerate this kind of disrespect! This was an assassination attempt!" He ended with a whine. "And these were my favorite pants."

Carter made excuses, like always. Jo understood though. "This was an attack against the Director of GD. We have to take this seriously."

Fargo straightened. "You're not off the hook either." He reached behind his desk, pulling out a paper shooting target emblazoned with his image. It actually had a pretty impressive grouping of bullet-holes through Fargo's center-of-mass. "What the hell, Lupo?"

Before Jo could defend her men, Alison Blake entered unannounced and, surprise surprise, lectured everyone on how disappointing she found their recent actions. Carter shot Jo a look of rebuke when she nodded in agreement with Fargo's comment about 'perfect Dr. Blake' but honestly, Jo thought she had it coming.

Somehow, Carter finagled his way into picking up her usual prime suspect and she got stuck interviewing Dr. Parrish. Fine. Carter would regret that. No one could handle Zane Donovan like her and everyone in Eureka damn well knew it. One day, Carter would learn, would appreciate her skills. Jo found herself eternally glad she wasn't his Deputy anymore.

For once in their pampered lives, the GD scientists displayed some situational awareness and stayed the hell out of her way. Her trip back down to Section Three consisted of a lot of people disappearing when they saw her. Maybe it would be amusing ordinarily. But ordinarily she didn't have disorder in the ranks, pranks pulled on the Director on her watch. Jo's teeth ground together as she entered the lab.

Parrish, the arrogant bastard, roamed about the lab as she interviewed him. Apparently, her ability to detain threats to GD security was not at all worthy of his undivided attention. Jackass should talk a bit more with his buddy Zane. Her arms crossed over her chest. Maybe Jo would give him something to tell Zane about, share war stories. Guys always bonded over shit like that.

When Parrish blithely confessed to the IM attack, Jo almost hit him. Still, the Director should decide his punishment. As Jo made her way back to Fargo's office, she fumed. Stupid Carter, wasting time talking to Zane when they have a situation here. Maybe if Jo petitioned for a harsh enough punishment, Fargo would get off her case. Jo tried to recall if they still sent people to Alaska, that always put the fear of God into these little hyper-rational monsters.

* * *

This day sucked. Demonstrations gone wrong. Confrontations (weird ones anyway) with Lupo. Now, his stupid game was broken or something. The car on the screen wasn't doing anything right. Zane slammed a hand down on the table with a crack. The other patrons of Cafe Diem stared but what the hell did he care? It's not like they were really surprised. Zane, being a loud jackass, really?

He frowned at the screen, restarting the level. No way was he going back to the lab after this poor performance. If Zane couldn't maneuver around a simple video game racetrack then he shouldn't be doing more complicated work. Shit. His car crashed again. What the hell? His hand hit the table again, making the napkin dispenser rattle.

"Zane?" Oh awesome, Carter the Concerned had arrived. Yeah, so he was being a little disruptive. So what? This town could do with some disruption. Everyone in Eureka was just a little too ordered and tidy. Zane's mind flashed on Lupo's perfectly tailored suits, perfectly slicked back ponytails. Perfect little robot Enforcer. They'd never stepford-scientist him!

The Sheriff kept distracting him with questions about an attack on Fargo. Come on, who hasn't tried that? Still, he didn't do anything. Again. Jesus, what would it take for everyone to stop blaming him for every freaking thing that went wrong? "Guy's a tool. I've been here for a while. Ask Vincent." The effort of talking and playing proved to be too much for Zane. His car disappeared in a ball of simulated flame.

Next thing Zane knew, the contents of his table were strewn across the floor of the cafe and he was outside, stomping towards his motorcycle. Carter caught up with him, saying something about needing him at GD. Even through his frustration, Zane heard it. The 'Or Else'. Or else Lupo and her taser would come for your soul. Jesus, some days he hated this town. Zane was just about done with the Enforcer. There was no respite.

So what if Carter had to handcuff him to get him into the car. Not like it was the first time. The Sheriff attempted to talk to him, just wouldn't stop it with the 'Dudley Do Right' routine. "Zane, I'm pretty sure you didn't do this. Something's clearly wrong. Come on, get yourself together."

"What? So Lupo can stare me into confessing with her freaky psycho-cop routine? Please."

Carter snickered despite himself. "Yeah, it's terrifying." He sobered, eyes leaving road to glance at Zane. "Still, you've got to pull yourself together."

Zane huffed, rearranging his wrists. "Whatever."

Carter made a few more tries at bringing him on the straight and narrow. Zane just ignored him, teeth grinding as he thought. Three days, he'd been good. But it hadn't mattered. Everyone's default action was 'blame Zane'. Sheriff talked a good game but the second Lupo had him in her bean-bag catching grasp, it would be all over. The way she'd been looking at him lately, it wouldn't matter what he said, what he did or didn't do. Bitch would just lock him up, take his lab away.

And Fargo. Okay so he'd tried to shoot him in the face with a bean-bag. Like GD's not-so-benevolent dictator didn't have that coming. Zane frowned a moment. "How was Fargo attacked?" At the Sheriff's look of skepticism, he added. "So many possibilities."

Carter answered as he parked. "Some immobilization thingy exploded." He turned the car off, facing Zane. "Not that you'd know anything about that, right?"

Zane sniffed dismissively, holding his hands out. Carter let him stew a moment; he believed in all that scared-straight bullshit. But he did eventually un-cuff Zane.

Before Zane could duck into GD and away from Sheriff You're-Such-A-Disappointment, Carter grabbed his elbow and dragged him up to the Director's office. Zane began to resist, yelling and pulling, until Carter leaned in close, whispering. "Sorry. I know that I'm not your usual date." It took everything Zane had not to punch the grin off the Sheriff's face.

The rotunda was full of people, shoving and kicking and yelling at one another. Zane let himself be towed along, nostrils flaring at the memory of Carter's smug certainty. Stupid freaking Lupo with her handcuffs and heels and mutant reflexes. Zane's eyes narrowed at the tableau in the Director's office. Of course Jo never met a crisis she didn't throw herself into with a bad-ass attitude and a cheap shot. His teeth ground together, thinking about rooms full of lightening and who probably would have been the shooter if he had been locked up. Zane lunged at her.

* * *

Jo bared her teeth as Zane entered the room. Carter might not be able to see it but that jackass was begging for a fight. When he started for her, she was ready. Well, almost. Carter caught Zane deftly and Jo found herself knocked back against the rotunda windows by a combination of Tess and Alison.

"It's probably a good idea to keep them apart." Tess admonished as Jo struggled.

Both Jo and Carter yelled back. "Ya think?" Jo inhaled several times before Alison & Tess felt her body relax. After she'd been released, Jo positioned herself out of Zane's line of sight. One look at his smarmy face and she'd punch him. Jo heard the crowd stir out in the rotunda. Through the windows, the mob raised a dummy up pummeling it with trash. A very familiar looking dummy.

Fargo vibrated in place. "Is that supposed to be me?" He huffed. "That's insubordinate!" He whirled to face Jo. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm trying not to lose it. Don't push me!"

Fargo wisely decided to ignore her. He turned to Alison, foot tapping. She gave a defeated shrug of her shoulders. "It isn't Dr. Hansen. I tested that red liquid of his. It was raspberry winecooler."

Jo snorted. "What is he, a high school cheerleader?" Zane snickered in the background. Alison's hand on her arm halted Jo mid-step. Jo kept her breaths even before continuing. "Okay, we nee-"

"To find out what's going on." Carter interjected.

She froze. "Oh, that's right. You know how to do my job better than me, right?" Her voice was barely a step below yelling. Jo's fingers twitched at her sides.

Carter backed away, hands up. "Not what I said."

She stepped toward the door. "I'm the head of GD Security, Carter. I am going to fix this, not you. Get out of my way."

"Jo, wait a minute-" She pulled her weapon, pointing it Carter's too damn calm face.

"Get out of my way, Carter! Can't you let me do my job for once? I'm not your Deputy anymore, damnit!" He's always in GD business, even when it wasn't Eureka business. He never knows when to let things be, when to trust her.

"No, you're not." Carter took a small step forward. "Look, Jo. You can do this. I know you can do this. But-" Carter took another step, hand outreached. "You are being affected. You know it. And, we can't do this without you Jo." Her hand trembled. That stupid Carter placating voice. It always worked; Jo didn't want to shoot that voice. Jo slumped, gun falling into the Sheriff's hand, his other arm around her. "I got you Jo." Jo let him hold her up a moment before steadying herself.

Carter released her carefully. Jo avoided looking at anyone else. Damn, she'd lost it. Almost justified Carter's doubts. She'd have to do better. Why couldn't she do better?

"You stupid bitch!" Jo turned to see Zane shove Tess into a chair, arm raised for who knows what. Jo was across the room and on top of him in a flash. "AaahHH!" His hand bent backwards in Jo's grip as they tumbled, the pain cutting off his attack. Though smaller, she used every limb, every contact point to hold him down. Still, he tried invective. "Frigid distrusting harpy! Bite me Lupo!"

Jo bent down close to his face. Her mouth hovered over his. Their breaths intermingled a moment. The red sheen in Zane's eyes faded leaving the usual blue. "Don't tempt me." He twitched under her hands and she acted. Zane was up against the wall being cuffed before he could think of resisting further.

As Jo clicked the handcuffs into place, she noticed Alison hovering around them scanner pointed at Zane's head. Whatever the scanner said, Alison frowned. "His brain is overheating."

Zane smirked over his shoulder at Alison. "Are you sayin' that I'm hot?"

"Whoa!" Carter directed at Zane while preventing Jo from slamming him into the wall a second time.

"We need to get him to the infirmary. He needs to be sedated." Alison's voice remained perfectly even and freakishly controlled. Did anything faze that woman? Jo managed a nod though. No matter how much she wanted to shoot Carter or save GD, Jo knew if Zane was going to get to the infirmary then there's only one person capable of getting him there. Jo's fingers tightened, grasping the material of his stupid t-shirt. "Let's go."

* * *

Fucking Lupo. Making promises she can't keep. Zane stumbled, hands bound behind his back, into the infirmary. Jo's grip on his shirt forcing him down into a bed. Her tiny little devil hands shoving him down and into restraints. He fought, duh. Not that it did any good. Can't fight a force of nature.

Through his anger, Zane's mind flashed to Jo pressed on top of him. Her confident dodge of his punch, the way she came in closer, quieter, surer than she'd ever been. No way she didn't know what she did to him. No fucking way. Manipulative bitch.

"You and your authoritarian handcuff fetish can kiss my ass Lupo!" He pulled at the bindings on his arms and legs.

"Will you and your stupid hair please shut up?" She punched a face that had shoved its way through the opening in the infirmary doors, picking up a pole and smashing the door controls. Zane started giggling. Through the windows of the infirmary, he could see the angry mob. They pounded on the shatter-resistant glass but shatter-resistant didn't mean shatter-proof. "Suck it Lupo."

Jo stomped over to his bed, pole still in hand. "Shut up! Shut up you jackass!" Dr. Blake cautiously took the makeshift weapon from Jo, who stood there trembling at him. Zane didn't have the presence of mind to do more than sneer. Dr. Blake ducked in close, injecting him with something. "What did you do? I'm gonna-argh!" His muscles spasmed but the bindings held.

Through his haze of yelled expletives, Zane heard Dr. Blake speaking to someone on her phone. He writhed as Lupo, the fucking coward, cuffed herself rather than fight it out. The infirmary doors re-opened widening ever further in a tangle of grasping hands. Dr. Blake, hands tight around the pole, suddenly turned to him. Careful to remain out of his reach, she spoke to Zane in that even tone that always made him think of hot, angry schoolteachers.

"Zane? Listen to me." She glanced over her shoulder at the infirmary doors. "These people, they want to hurt us!"

"I'm gonna hurt you!"

Dr. Blake kicked the bed, causing it to rock slightly. "Zane! They want to hurt Jo!" She pointed to the center of the room, where Jo was handcuffed. She was rocking back and forth in place, head impacting a metal rod each time she came forward. Zane seethed.

"What the fuck happened to my Enforcer?"

Dr. Blake gave an amused snort. "They" She pointed at the door. "Made her go away." She held a hand over the bed controls. "Do you want Jo back, Zane?"

"Crazy bitch never does what I want!"

Dr. Blake repeated her question. "Do you want Jo back, Zane? Because I need you to keep them out of the infirmary so we can get Jo back for you." She hit the controls, hand with the pole outstretched.

Zane leaped up with a roar, snatching the pole. Dr. Blake dodged out of his way and he was upon them swinging and hitting until the infrasonic wave hit. He came to standing above a bleeding seismologist, blinking away the pain behind his eyes.

* * *

Thunk. Jo squeezed her eyes shut. Thunk. Stupid fucking Zane, like she wasn't already angry enough. Thunk. If he hadn't been here, she could of...done something. Thunk. Jo blotted out his shouts, Alison's frantic phone conversation with Carter, focusing on the painful impact of her forehead on metal. Thunk. Some Security chief she was. GD's fallen to the zombie horde. Thunk. Great, now she sounds like Carter. Thunk. Fucking Carter, he'll totally save the day. Thunk. A pain blossomed behind her eyes but she ignored it. She rocked forward only to hit something definitely not metal and possessing fingers.

Jo blinked up at Zane, his hand placed on the rod. He stared down at her a moment before reaching for the cuffs. She pulled away only to stop, taking in their surroundings. The angry mob was gone. A few injured people had crawled into beds. Alison was nowhere to be seen. "They fixed it." Jo turned back to Zane, frowning stupidly at him. He tried again to get at her handcuffs. "Let's get you out of here."

"I threw away the keys." Zane smirked down at her as he began to fiddle with the metal links. Jo rolled her eyes. Right, keys were for other people. A few seconds later, her hands were free. Zane, being Zane, took the opportunity to run his thumbs around the skin of her wrists. Jo inhaled sharply, jerking out of his grasp. She asked, voice hoarse. "Alison?"

Zane tilted his head towards the door. "Rotunda."

"Ah." Jo looked around a moment. "I'm going to-"

"Yeah. I'll wait here." As she exited the infirmary, Jo noticed Zane pull up a chair next to Dr. Parrish's bed. Descending the stairs into the rotunda, Jo wondered. She'd always assumed Dr. Parrish and Zane's relationship similar to any other aggravated supervisor and recalcitrant scientist at GD. Twice today, earlier this morning and now, Jo had seen evidence of respect far beyond that. After the ton of professional uncertainty heaped on her today, the oversight stung. Some Security Chief she was.

Fargo stood over a dummy, his employees shuffling around him. The floor of the rotunda littered with torn up bits of poster-board. Occasionally a passing scientist directed a furtive glance at his back. They dispersed further as Jo crossed the rotunda, halting next to him. After a moment, she cleared her throat. Fargo's head snapped up.

"Ah, Lupo. Good to see you back."

"Glad to be back."

He nodded distractedly, clapping his hands together. "Well, let's get this place cleaned up." Fargo turned around. Whoever didn't already have trash or debris in hand dropped, grasping for any physical evidence that they were doing their part and were in no way shape or form responsible for the Fargo-shaped dummy. "Looks like they're already on that. See what you can do about other affected areas."

Jo made sure to put special emphasis on her reply. "Yes, sir." Fargo disappeared up the stairs to his office. A few seconds later, the wall of glass polarized.

Steps echoed, approaching Jo. The tread was too light for Carter. "Where's Fargo? I need to clear him."

Eyes not leaving the rotunda windows, Jo responded to Alison. "Give him a moment."

"I'm sorry Jo. But I need to clear you too." Jo slumped slightly. Alison put a hand on her arm. "Don't worry about it." She pulled Jo towards the infirmary.

"I lost it. I yelled at Carter." She and Alison shared at look. They both knew the feeling. Yelling at Carter sucked. He got that wounded puppy expression and moped for days. Alison patted her back.

"Look. The RSS made everyone a bit crazy. No one holds it against you." Jo's mind flashed to her meltdown. Tess, Alison and Carter were familiar enough with Eureka-style disasters to not hold any grudges. Fargo had screwed up way worse in the past and knew it. Which left one more witness.

"Almost no one."

Alison stopped walking a moment. The infirmary door open and closed ahead. Through the glass, Zane and Parrish spoke both grinning, hands waving in enthusiasm. Jo, in shock, barely registered Alison's voice. "I think you'll be surprised." There was a tug on her sleeve. "Let's get you taken care of."

* * *

"You can't be serious!" Zane laughed, choking in a couple breaths.

"Oh, I am. Thirty volts, nothing but net." Parrish grinned smugly, but hell, he deserved to for pulling off a prank like that. He always had the best war stories.

The infirmary door whooshed open and he felt the air crackle. Zane sobered. Only meant one thing. Refusing to turn around, he checked a reflective surface. Dr. Blake was leading a defeated looking Jo Lupo to a bed. Zane slumped just slightly.

He felt Parrish's silent inquisition. Zane started to fidget, trying to think of an escape when Parrish finally spoke. "Interesting bedside manner from Dr. Blake today. Surprisingly effective."

Zane sniffed in reply. Parrish opened his mouth to say more only to stop. At that, Zane turned around. Director Fargo had entered the infirmary. He shuffled his feet a moment before approaching them. Zane heard Parrish mutter. "Crow time."

As he stood to give them some privacy, Zane grinned at Parrish. "Tasty."

Zane wandered to the other side of the infirmary. Dr. Blake wrapped up her exam of Jo. They conversed a few moments more, faces serious. Whatever Blake said worked; by the time they finished Jo's stance regained some of its 'don't mess with me' attitude.

Dr. Blake idly traveled from bed to bed, gathering up debris or seeing to patients. Although he was uninjured, she stopped in front of Zane. "Doctor Donovan, let's get you cleared."

He glanced around the infirmary. While no one was dying, there were an awful lot of minor injuries. Zane frowned down at Dr. Blake. "Um, sure." The good doctor led him to a bed near Lupo. Zane tried to face away from Jo only to have Blake steer him otherwise. "I need you close to the scanner. It doesn't have much range." He complied but narrowed his eyes.

It occurred to Zane that someone married to Dr. Thomas Blake, Dr. Nathan Stark and currently pretending not to be interested in Sheriff Carter was nobody's fool. He sat through the exam, waiting for Blake to pick her moment. As with Lupo, she did so after giving him a clean bill of health.

"It's protocol for the GD Chief of Security to review all video footage of a major incident."

"Yeah, so?" He ripped the sensors off his arm, standing.

"It's also protocol for copies of the footage to be submitted to the DoD. For review." Zane looked over Dr. Blake's head where Jo now spoke on the phone. He heard Dr. Blake whisper. "The reviews are quite thorough."

Blake disappeared from his side, finally attending to actual wounded people. Jo spent another twenty minutes on the phone. Whoever she was arguing with, it put the fight in her eyes again.

Lupo wrapped up her call, giving him a chance to, well, apologize maybe. Zane approached her cautiously. After coming to, Jo had practically fled from the infirmary rather than look at him. Smirking, he got her attention. "If you don't need me for anything else, me and my 'stupid hair' will be going."

The tips of her ears turned pink but she barked back at him. "Will you be able to survive without my 'authoritarian handcuff fetish'?"

"No." Zane answered, with odd sincerity. The corners of her mouth turned up, just slightly. Now that Zane knew what to look for, he wondered how he'd missed the signs all this time. Jo Lupo, Not A Robot. He allowed himself a leisurely survey of her rumpled suit, frizzed hair and tired eyes. Definitely not.

He opened his mouth to speak only to stop as he met her gaze. Jo tilted her head up at him, wary but relaxed in that weird way of hers. He'd never apologized to Lupo without insulting her and now faced with the prospect, Zane wasn't sure he knew how. He frowned. "Can I go? You won't hunt me down?"

She smirked up at him, repeating words which ground his super-genius mind to a halt. "Don't tempt me." As soon as they left her mouth, Jo's eyes widened. She blushed furiously and stuttered a few moments before honest-to-god fleeing. Zane stared after her.

* * *

Twenty-fours hours later, Jo still could not believe she had been so stupid. Repeating that? God, Zane could get a year's worth of innuendos out of those three words. What the hell was the matter with her?

Eager for something to blame, she confronted Parrish in his lab. After making sure Zane was not present, of course. According to Parrish the infrasonic wave should have instantly corrected any abnormal brain chemistry. No residual effects. Unfortunately for Jo's sanity, he chose not to leave it at that. As if speaking to a child, he elaborated. "The RSS cannot generate feelings. It only amplifies them."

Jo crossed her arms over her chest. "So?"

Parrish fiddled a dial as he spoke. "So, if someone felt anger or...other emotions while under its influence, they would still feel those emotions now." Jo stiffened. "Was there anything else, Chief Lupo?"

Through her teeth, she replied. "No."

Jo walked out of the lab, short of breath. The RSS specifications were no secret. Damnit. She checked the hallway before letting herself slump against a wall in a camera blind spot. So much for our little peace. Intellectually, Jo knew she couldn't avoid Zane for forever. Even a long time wouldn't do, he had eidetic memory and more than enough incentive to recall this fiasco. She forced herself to breath in and out.

Her phone rang, shrill beeping startling her into an upright position. Jo took one more deep breath before answering. "Lupo, here."

As the voice on the other end explained the situation, Jo's heart sank. Couldn't she catch a break? She rattled off a few orders before hanging up. Stalking towards the Director's office, Jo shook out her hands as she walked. Fargo had been a bit delicate since the Rage Incident. She'd just have to ride out his temper.

Caught up in self-recrimination, Jo almost collided with Alison. "Oh, sorry Alison." Jo caught and handed the doctor's datapad back to her as she spoke. "Bad news to deliver."

Alison frowned slightly. "I'm just headed that way myself." She flicked the screen of her pad. "Neurochemical report from the Rage Incident." They walked together a few steps before Alison spoke again. "Want to talk about it?"

Jo sighed. "Not really." One of the things Jo had always liked about Alison was that when you said that you did not want to talk she just nodded and accepted that you weren't ready to talk.

Before entering Fargo's office, Alison spoke again. "Good or Bad news first?"

Jo thought a moment, mentally sorting through Fargo's afternoon schedule. He had got to be in top form for that meeting with the Pentagon later. She released a defeated sigh. "Bad news." Alison nodded once more, letting Jo enter ahead of her.

"Ah Lupo! Dr. Blake!" Fargo stood with brittle cheer. That had pretty much been his public reaction to the Rage Incident. Jo wished that she didn't have to burst his carefully constructed bubble. "How's that report for the DoD going?"

She stood, back straight with hands behind her back. "About that, sir. There's been an anomaly in the video footage."

Fargo skittered over to her, leaning in close. "An anomaly?"

"Some footage disappeared sir. About two minutes."

Alison's voice echoed from behind Jo. "Which two minutes?"

Jo stared at the floor a moment, gathering her courage. Alison, now beside her, gave a knowing "Aha". Fargo's brow wrinkled as he responded. "Any fingerprints?"

Jo nodded. "Security has some scraps of code recovered. Can't tell-"

Fargo pulled out his phone, barking once the connection was made. "Send my pad everything you have on the footage gap during the Incident!"

Alison stepped forward, staring at Fargo intently. Jo frowned. As Fargo waited for his data, he wagged a finger at Alison. "We can't treat data loss incidents lightly, Dr. Blake."

"Fargo." Alison's voice hardened. Jo's frown deepened. What was going on?

He ignored her tone, eyes lighting up as the data transferred. "Now, perhaps I can recognize someone's work in this-" Fargo paused, fingers frozen over the screen. After a few moments study, he rocked back on his heels. "Oh."

"Sir?" Fargo's eyes met Alison's. "Sir?" Jo prompted again. Alison and Fargo stared at one another a few beats longer before Fargo finally responded to her.

"My apologies Lupo. I had forgotten." His fingers tightened around the datapad. "The Director's office has some additional security protocols on its camera feeds." Fargo laughed nervously. "It appears they prevented you from accessing the feed. I'll um" He fidgeted a moment. "I'll submit that portion of the video to the Pentagon myself."

"Fargo, I'm not familiar with any additio-"

"They're new." Fargo nodded enthusiastic at his own answer. "Yes, just implemented. In testing really."

Jo's face stiffened. Like hell. "Fine." Not trusting her voice, she nodded at Alison, married to two GD Directors Alison who probably knew more protocols than Jo ever would, and left the room.

* * *

Don't tempt me. Don't tempt me. No matter how many times Zane repeated Lupo's words, he came back to the same question. Could Jo even be tempted? He knew Parrish's project, understood how the riot-suppression device worked. If at the height of the device's effect on her, Jo Lupo was tempted by him enough to say so, then ordinarily, she was tempted and just didn't show it. Which was too crazy even for this town. If she had ever given the slightest sign of not being repulsed by him, Zane sure as hell wouldn't have limited himself to innuendos. The slightest iota of a chance with Jo Lupo was abso-fricking-lutely worth being tasered and probably another ride in Fargo's trunk.

Zane sat at workbench in his lab, not really accomplishing anything. All day, he had started various projects, including trying to finish up that Sky Cruiser. But every time he focused too long on anything, Jo's voice hovering over him echoed. Don't tempt me. Who could think with memory of Lupo pressed down holding and gripping and – Jesus Christ. Zane shifted on his stool. He took a few deep breaths. This was ridiculous. Not like she hadn't held him down before. Hell, even the anger wasn't new. But the devil's in the details. Like, how as she had leaned in, breathing out as Zane breathed her in, the red sheen of her eyes had receded, leaving serious brown.

He moved parts around on the table. And in the infirmary later, she knew that he seen her slip-up for what it was. Mortified, she'd fled from him. The steering component he studied shook in Zane's hands. As much as he'd always tried to get a rise out of Lupo, Zane had never in a million years expected it to work. Damn it. The part dropped onto the table with a clank. If he was trying to predict the Enforcer, well, that was easy. He'd get no mercy. She'd make him pay for seeing. His little stunt would only count further against him. Zane frowned at the tabletop. Predicting Jo, however, was a great deal harder. Zane honestly had no idea what she would do.

The door to his lab opened, causing Zane to tense. Only something wasn't right; the air was too flat for Lupo. Zane swiveled his stool to find Director Fargo striding up to him. "Doctor Donovan. Just the person I wanted to see." His boss's overly-chirpy voice caused Zane to wince.

"Yeah?"

Fargo came to a stop in front of Zane, head bobbing as the Director checked out the lab. "Good space."

"Lupo said the same thing." Fargo's eyes focused on Zane, stance no longer casual. And Zane knew. Busted.

Fargo handed him a datapad. "It seems the camera feeds in my office are not as secure as we thought." Zane snorted, only to take the pad at Fargo's glare. "I would appreciate it if, in your spare time, you worked to ensure that any future incidents are handled with the delicacy that GD security always deserves."

Zane's head snapped up. Fargo stood defiantly. Despite himself, Zane felt the tiniest spark of respect for the Director. Zane glanced down at the pad, where the evidence of his little jaunt glowed accusingly. He let the Director stew a moment before replying. "Delicacy and security don't usually mix."

Fargo smiled, smug. "Time and place, Donovan. Time and place." The Director slipped his hands into his pockets. His body leaned toward a bank of equipment. "Those the souped-up Mark10s?"

Zane smirked. Kids in candy stores. He tossed the datapad onto the table. "Yep." He stood, leading Fargo across the lab. "You gotta see the converters on these things."

* * *

Jo pushed herself away from a screen displaying the security feed for Zane's lab, ready to - she wasn't sure, exactly. Technically, Zane had broken into GD's network and deleted security footage. Any way you looked at it that was a major infraction. That he'd supposedly done so to protect her did not excuse it. Jo stared at the image of Zane showing Fargo around, nibbling on her lower lip.

"Wondered how long it would take you." Jo whirled around at Alison's voice.

"How did you get in here?"

She gave the Security Chief a pleased half-grin. "Would you believe Nathan talked in his sleep?"

"About hacking GD door controls?" Jo narrowed her eyes as Alison sat across from her with a dismissive half-shrug. Alison spent a moment watching the screens behind Jo before speaking again.

"I may have mentioned to Zane about certain DoD protocols."

"Why? He could have-"

"Yes." Alison's voice forceful, she continued. "He could have." Jo stared back at Alison, mind sorting through the footage. The only thing currently missing from the DoD report was Jo pulling a weapon on Carter and that not-so-disciplinary-tackle of Zane. He had free reign over the data but Zane hadn't meddled with anything else. That included his own less-than-lucid-confrontation with Alison or him beating the crap out of couple of scientists who broke into the infirmary before the calming wave hit.

"Why would he-" Jo swallowed, memory recalling Zane's voice in the infirmary. My Enforcer, he had yelled with fierceness and heat that had nothing to do with fury. "I mean, what, um-Alison?" The last was pleading. Zane Donovan did not do shit like this. He just did not.

"Jo." Alison reached across her desk, taking a shaking hand. "Jo." She repeated as Jo found herself blinking furiously. "I took a risk."

"On Zane?"

"Yes, on Zane. Just like Fargo." Alison nodded to the bank of screens. "Just like Carter. Just like Parrish. And, Jo, he came through."

"The DoD expects-"

"A little too much sometimes." At Jo's stern look, Alison continued. "They have every right to know what we are doing. It's their money. But, that footage had nothing to do with our research or your ability to do your job." Alison tightened her grip on Jo's hand. "Okay?"

Jo half-turned, allowing herself to watch the feed from the lab. Zane and Fargo scribbled furiously on some white boards, every now and again gesturing emphatically at one another. Fargo was doing that bouncy walk he always gets when the ideas are flowing fast and furious. Zane, genuine grin in place, worked with a stunning calm that Jo hardly recognized. Her hand stretched out, hitting a key. The camera switched, showing Zane's face open and focused and so perfect that before she could stop herself, Jo whispered. "Okay."

Alison, wisely, said nothing more. She just held Jo's hand as they watched Zane Donovan in his element. As Jo sat there, friend by her side, she realized something. She'd always defined herself as being a risk-taker. Her career, life choices, they were all about daring and unknowns. Here was 'daring and unknown' personified. Maybe the situation warranted a tactical reevaluation. Resolved, Jo smiled just slightly at the screen, remembering her discomfort at his improved attitude. Maybe too not much of a reevaluation. Wouldn't want to confuse Donovan.

**THE END (for now)**

* * *

Coming soon...

_"I got plenty detonators." Everyone in the room turned to Zane. He shifted a bit. Jo raised a hand to rub the space between her eyes. Noticing the General's left eye twitch, Zane added. "We use them in the immobilization mines."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** See Chapter One

**Rating: **Now Back to T

* * *

**Chapter Three – The Story of O2**

Lupo was Up To Something. Past week, absolutely no retribution headed Zane's way. Although Fargo had impressed him, Zane had no illusions. The Enforcer knew all, saw all. Jo had been walking by his lab every couple of hours like clock-work, probably casing the joint. But she never struck. Instead, Jo had treated him with cautious respect. Zane Donovan had lived in Eureka long enough to be suspicious of a calm, reasonable Jo Lupo. He was sick of being tense all the time. It would stop. Today.

Zane purposely passed over the launch site in the Sky Cruiser, watching the people below scatter like ants. One of them was Lupo; even from his height, Zane could see the anger in her walk. After he landed, Zane ended with the flourish of hitting on the hot blond near the reception booth. Lupo stomped over to him, the General and Fargo not far behind.

"Zane! Turn it off!" He rolled his eyes but complied only to have her surprise him. Sure, Jo's expression clearly said 'Cease & Desist' but that's it. No cuffs, no threats. Zane frowned at her. Having turned off the Sky Cruiser, she acted like he warranted no further punishment. What the freaking hell?

"What the freaking hell, Zane?" Fargo ran up, slightly out of breath from the jog over. "You were instructed to fly straight from GD to here. No joy rides."

"Yes, sir Fargo sir."

"Doctor Donovan, why aren't you back at GD monitoring the EM field tuning?" General Mansfield frowned accusingly.

"Relax. I got my PDA with me." He pulled it out of a jacket pocket. "And this baby" Zane patted the Sky Cruiser. "Is loaded with sensors so I can take an up-close look after the launch."

"I expect you to take your new responsibilities seriously, Donovan."

"Abso-freaking-lutely, sir!" Zane gave a sloppy salute. Mansfield, rolling his eyes at Zane's antics, walked off. Fargo joined him after directing a stern shake of his head at Zane. Jo stared at him a few beats longer, face impassive. She finally did move, only not to follow her bosses. Jo moved towards the Sky Cruiser. Zane saw the beginnings on the corners of her mouth tighten and the hint of intent in her eyes.

Zane knew that look, had seen it in her face enough times. That look said, 'Gotcha' and revealed one undeniable fact: The Enforcer was on the hunt. "Nice try Donovan." Jo looked around the launch site. "Anything else I should know about?" Actually, no. Zane had been positive the Sky Cruiser would work. He just shrugged.

"Lupo! Get over here." Fargo yelled from his position near the rocket gantries. Jo gave him one last smirk before walking away, leaving a thoroughly weirded out Zane. He'd wound people up often enough to know the signs. He narrowed his eyes at her retreating back. Zane was apparently in for some highly unpredictable form of retribution. He fiddled with the controls to the Cruiser, prepping for his pass closer to Eureka's EM shield. Hell, he'd been bored lately anyway.

"Zane!" Dr. Blake walked up, her son in tow.

Ever since the Rage episode, Blake made it a point to say hi to him. Zane was starting to see why Carter and her always circled around one another. She had that same we're-having-a-normal-conversation-but-I'm-onto-you-buddy attitude all the freaking time. Still, her kid was pretty cool.

"Yo." Kevin slapped his upturned hand as Zane asked. "You ready?"

The boy bounced up and down a little. "Totally. This race will be over before you know it."

Hand on her son's shoulder, Dr. Blake asked gently. "You did you check the stage firing timing again, right?"

"No, mom. I decided to skip it." Kevin rolled his eyes. He fidgeted with the remote control in his hand. "I'm gonna check my alignment. See ya Zane!"

Zane watched as Kevin ran up to his rocket on the gantry, examining it with pointed intent. Knowing it wasn't his business, he spoke anyway. "Might want to ease up."

He could feel Blake's gaze on him. "I could say the same for you." Yeah, her and Carter were perfect for one another. No ability to leave things be. Still, unlike the Sheriff, Blake knew when to change the subject. Instead of hashing out all the different ways he was not good enough for Jo Lupo, Blake chatted him up about his EM shield tuning research. They talked for several minutes, leaving Zane somewhat impressed by the good doctor.

"Attention everyone. We're about to start the countdown." Jo meandered over to the launch control table. Over the heads of the crowd, their eyes met. She raised an eyebrow, gauntlet thrown. Zane felt his pulse skip, breaking the stare to put on his helmet. Okay Lupo, let's play. He started the Sky Cruiser, grinning under his helmet.

* * *

Donovan took off right before the launch, taking one more low pass over the VIP area that she would have to yell at him for later. Still, for Zane he'd been amusingly wary. After years of treating the Sheriff with due caution, Jo felt more than a little pleased that he had begun to appreciate Jo's equal capability for being disarmingly sneaky when it suited her. Game on, Donovan.

The plumes from the rockets gave the launch site a foggy appearance. The crowd now dispersed. Vincent's "Titan-tinis" long consumed, they headed down the mountain to Café Diem for the rest of the festivities. Jo and Fargo trailed the General to his car.

"Director Fargo, I must say that was quite impressive." The fog ahead parted, faint caws tickling Jo's ears. She frowned, squinting into the haze.

"Thank you sir. We're always happy to-"

"Birds!" A flock of low-flying crows zoomed their way, pitching and yawing as they flew. The creatures were on them in a flash, swirling and calling out in a blind animal panic. Unlike certain horror scenarios, the birds did not appear to have hostile intentions. In fact, out of the corner of her eye Jo saw one impact the General's chest and fall to the ground, still. As the last of the crows passed them, Jo lowered her arms with a sigh. Space Week had been going so well.

They spent a few moments picking feathers off their clothes. Mansfield stood impassively off to the side as if bird attacks were a common inconvenience for two star generals. Fargo, in an effort to regain some control, started giving orders when a loud whining pierced the air. Jo looked up to see a black dot corkscrewing out of the sky. Her mind instantly identified the shape. The Sky Cruiser. She sucked in a breath as it made one last turn before crashing into the General's vehicle. A black-clad figured was thrown from the fireball.

"Zane!" Jo ran up to him as he staggered to his feet.

"Did you see that?" He pulled his helmet off. "That was awesome!" Zane giggled ridiculously. Jo's heart sank. So much for an impressively cautious Donovan. Knew it was too good to last. Mansfield and Fargo approached as Zane attempted to recreate his flight with the hand gestures and sound effects of a precocious five-year old.

"Donovan! What did you do to my prototype?"

Zane swayed, leaning against the remains of the General's car. "I dunno." He squinted at the General, hand outstretched. "Your ribbons are pretty."

"Zane!" Jo grabbed his sleeve, knocking him back into the car door. She tried to keep her voice even. "What happened?"

He frowned, forehead wrinkling with the effort of recall. Jo worried at the sight; Zane's memory was annoyingly flawless. "I was flying. And then these birds came. And then I was – whoosh!" Zane swayed again. "My head hurts."

"You are inebriated." The General pursed his lips, tone matter-a-fact but undoubtedly furious.

"I am not!" Zane shook his head, attempting to stand on his own. He slipped, falling on his ass at the General's feet. Jo sighed as she tried to help him up.

"That is it! Fargo," The Director appeared behind his boss. "I want this man out of Eureka by tomorrow. I won't have people casually destroying 150 million dollar prototypes! I want him on a truck to a maximum security facility by sundown."

Jo's heart stopped. After two years of trying, Zane had finally gone too far. No more late nights at the jail. No more wrestling matches as she apprehended him. No more cocky smirks and tests of her will. Somehow, even after putting up with two years of Zane Donovan, Jo found herself intervening. "General, may I speak freely?"

"Of course Chief Lupo."

"This isn't Donovan's style." She's missed his friendship with Parrish and his capability for discretion. In the interests of improving GD Security, Jo had found herself curious about what else had she missed. Reviewing his incident reports over the last two years, Jo had been pleasantly surprised at what they revealed. Sure, he was cocky bastard but his pranks were not random mindless hi-jinks.

"He got drunk and destroyed a prototype. That's exactly the sort of screw up that got him here."

"If I may, sir, that is not correct." Jo put out a placating hand to stop the General from interrupting. "Yes, he's a screw-up but, sir, I've busted him enough times to know how he thinks. This is nothing like the Donovan that I've had in my holding cell on and off for the past two years."

"You're certain about this." The General did not appear to enthusiastic about considering the possibility of Zane's innocence.

Try as he might to suppress it, Zane Donovan had a well-developed sense of right and wrong. Jo had been really looking forward to convincing him to show it in ways that did not require arrest warrants. "Sir, Donovan is very specific in who he chooses to prank. Do you know what he did to a couple of scientists who showed up to a demonstration buzzed with undeserved victory and alcohol?"

General Mansfield's eyebrows went up. Jo had been counting on the General's natural inclination to read every incident report, most of which involve Zane. He stared at the giggling scientist for a moment before responding to Jo. "What do you suggest?"

"The usual, sir. Detain him until I complete an investigation. If he did in fact destroy a prototype while drunk, then I'll be the first one to support his removal from Eureka." The General nodded, obviously conflicted but acquiescent. Jo felt something in her relax.

Fargo, who had been uncharacteristically silent during this conversation, jumped in. "Get him to Dr. Blake and find out what's going on." He looked over his shoulder at the avian corpses. "And get someone up here to deal with these birds!"

Zane blinked up at her. "Caw! Caw!" His voice sing-songed the bird calls, face not at all adorable in its innocent glee.

Jo crouched down, grabbing his arms. "Zane. We need to get you up, okay? We're going to GD."

"The Enforcer will save the day!" Zane sprung to his feet with a giggle. Jo blushed, hoping the General had moved out of earshot. Covering, she grabbed Zane a bit roughly.

"You're blitzed." Jo accused as she dragged him to her car.

"No, I'm not." He sighed. "Well, maybe a little. Weird." Jo turned to look at his profile. For the past two years, Zane's sole chemical buzz had been adrenaline. Making this incident all the more uncharacteristic. Just got his own lab, catching the eye of General Mansfield, suddenly Zane had something to lose. She pursed her lips in thought. Those pranks if his, scientists could be quite vindictive.

"Don't be angry." Jo slumped Zane against her car, him frowning down at her. She rolled her eyes at him as she got the door open.

"I'm not angry with you Zane. Not this time."

He grinned, hands waving. "Yay!" Okay, maybe he was a little bit adorable.

* * *

Zane stumbled into his usual chair in his usual cell. He'd reached underneath, reflexively pulling out a journal from his not-so-secret stash. He sighed up at Jo, journal in hand. She was so nice. Jo caught him staring, forcing Zane to open the magazine. He wasn't supposed to know. Ssshhhh. He blinked at the pages, flipping through them with increasing frustration. Zane held the opened magazine out to Jo, voice hurt. "The words are spinning."

She gently removed the journal from his hands, tossing it back into the pile. "Maybe you should just wait for Alison."

"I'll get bored." He leaned towards her, whispering. "Bored is bad. I need stationary words." He tried to make her understand but Jo just shook her head. Her hands were gentler than his foggy mind could recall but they still held him down. Zane finally slumped back in defeat. The Sky Cruiser was dead. He killed it? He tried to remember.

Blake entered the holding area, heading straight for Zane's cell. Carter may be scary but at least he had good taste in women. She smelled of antiseptic and vanilla as her hands skittered over his face. "You're really pretty." Blake stared down at him, mouth quirking up.

"Thank you." She reached over, hypo in hand. "Hold still."

"Aahh!" Zane glared up accusingly, hand rubbing the sore spot on his neck. Mean doctor-lady. He faced Jo. "She hurt me."

"Zane. Let Alison work." Lupo, no wait Jo, kneeled in front of him. Her little bean-bag catching hands placed on her knees. Zane sighed at the memory of those fingers, causing Jo to stand up with a huff. "He's probably going to tell me that I'm hot next."

"And pretty, of course." Blake added.

"Lupo's not pretty." Blake stilled behind him. Jo's arms crossed in front of her chest. Her fingers tightened on the fabric of her jacket, drawing his eye. But the digits went slack at Zane's next words. "Lupo is awesome. The awesomest." He paused for a moment before adding graciously. "And hot. You're right about that."

"Breathalyzer's clean." Blake came around from behind him, thoughtful frown on her face.

"Then what is it? Zane doesn't do drugs."

"I'm a good boy." Zane saw their looks of skepticism. He waggled his eyebrows. "I am." Jo snorted, hand covering her mouth.

Blake ignored him, placing a hand on Jo's arm. "I'll get these other tests done. We'll find out what happened." With one last look at Zane, she left the cell.

Zane felt his earlier statement had not been taken seriously enough. "I am a good boy." She never thought he could do anything right. Always staring and poking at him. Made him twitchy.

Jo assessed him a moment before conceding. "I believe you." The statement blew right through whatever chemical haze covered his brain. Zane straightened in his chair.

"Really?" She nodded. Zane bounced up and down in his chair. She believed him. Cool. Good day. Great day. The best. He frowned again. Except for that crashing thing. What was up with that? Zane looked up, intending to ask Jo about it only to find her gone. Through the gaps in his cell, he saw her exiting the holding area.

Right before Jo walked out, Zane's brain flashed on something. "Lupo! The engines. The birds may have-" Zane made a sucking sound. She smiled over her shoulder at him, nodding.

"We'll get you out of here." Zane, giddy and frustrated, believed her despite his building headache.

* * *

Jo had left the cell feeling a bit high herself. 'The awesomest.' Jo knew Alison had seen her expression of stunned but reciprocal interest. Damn her for being right all the time. Unfortunately, Jo's natural high faded with the discovery of blind crows and stolen chemical formulas. She had avoided Fargo and the General. While the TAP theft was a solid lead, it did not necessarily clear Zane. If Jo couldn't provide concrete proof of his innocence soon, the General would have him removed from Eureka.

If the TAP fluid had been released, it would have generated a lot of oxygen and tracking where those concentrations were might give Jo an idea as to how Zane was exposed. Of course, she needed Deputy Andy for that. Jo had left the robot five messages asking for readings of oxygen concentrations at the launch site. She had never heard back.

"Jo!" Alison ran up to her in the hall. "I'm glad I caught you. I found out what was wrong with Zane. Hyperoxia. The amount of oxygen in his blood was staggering."

"Great!" At Alison's perplexed frown, Jo explained. "I got a lead. You just confirmed it. Send what you have to Fargo. I'm going to see if Zane remembers anything else."

Alison's hand on her arm stopped Jo. "Jo. This much oxygen –" She paused. "He's lucky to be alive." She stared at Alison a moment, always calm never fazed Alison who genuinely looked shaken. Jo nodded before heading down into the holding area. Jo hit the door control a bit harder than strictly necessary, trying to decide if she preferred normal Zane or blissed out Zane. In the end high-Zane's adorableness could not make up for a threat to his life. Normal Zane may be a pain in the ass but at least he wasn't in danger of dying. Jo frowned. Excepting from joyrides, pranks and her temper.

Zane was facing away from the door, head cradled in his hands. Without looking up, he greeted her. "Hey."

Jo let out a breath. "You're sober."

He glared at her, squinting under the lights. "I've been sober. But whatever was messing with my head just went away." Apparently, the crash was catching up to him. Zane cradled one shoulder, wincing as he shifted to face her.

"Okay. I think I figured out the what. But what I don't understand is who, why or how?" Jo went up to the cell wall, frowning at Zane through the grid of crisscrossing wires. "Did anyone approach you or try to give you anything at the launch site?"

Zane tilted his head, eyes narrowing. His brow furrowed. "You stopped the General from hauling me off."

"Yes. But Zane, he's pissed. We've got to find out what happened-"

"Why are you doing this? You're always busting my ass for something. You hate me."

Jo shook her head, enjoying the look of surprise on his face at her reply. "No, I don't."

Zane blinked, peering through the gaps in the wires. "You don't?"

Jo shook her head. "Nope." She popped the last syllable, noting his gaze drop to her mouth before snapping back up again. Turnabout is fair play Donovan. His mouth twitched just slightly, knowing he was caught and enjoying that she had bothered to trap him. Now that she had his attention, Jo walked over to the cell door. "If you want to rot in that cell, fine. But, if you'd like to clear your good name -" Zane snorted around his grin. Jo opened the cell door. "Then you should come with me."

He stood in the cell a moment, eying her and the door. Finally, Zane walked out halting by her side. "Where to?"

"The launch site. Come on." Zane followed her, every now and again glancing her way as they navigated the halls. They were almost to the parking lot when a shout halted their progress.

"What is he doing out?" Fargo rushed up to her. "The General expects Zane, preferably in shackles, ready to go soon."

"I didn't do anything." Jo put a hand up, hoping to prevent Zane from saying or doing something stupid which would only make her job harder. Fargo, however, got right under Zane's face bobbling up at him in anger.

"You destroyed a prototype. Pro-to-type. As in there was only one!"

"He was blitzed on TAP. 500 milliliters were stolen this morning." Jo grabbed Fargo's sleeve, pulling away him from Zane. "I think someone dosed him at the launch site. Maybe as a prank. We were going up there to take a look around." Not to mention, Jo thought to herself, Andy had never called back after reporting what killed those crows at the launch site. How could a robot be unable to pick up the phone?

Fargo gulped. "Ramsey's TAP? Oh crap." He thought a moment, foot tapping. "Okay, I'll get Ramsey to join Henry in checking out the Cruiser wreckage. You," He pointed to Jo. "get him out of here for a while." Jo opened her mouth only to be shut up by a dismissive wave from her boss. "Go! Before Mansfield finds out!"

Jo grabbed Zane's arm, dragging him the last few steps out of the building. As they crossed the parking lot, Zane abruptly stopped his hand on her shoulder. "Did Fargo just –?"

His grip was as just warm and sure as it had always been. Not more. Jo told herself this as she pulled his fingers free of her jacket. "Yeah he did." She hit the unlock button of her keys. "Get in."

* * *

Zane stared out the window, silent. Jo standing up to Generals. Fargo covering for him, twice. No one in Eureka had ever stood up for him before. Even the Sheriff, he might let Zane loose on his leash but Carter had never gone to bat with the powers-that-be for him. He glanced at the woman in the driver's seat. But Jo had and unlike Fargo, she'd done it to General Mansfield's face. Damnit, why hadn't she just let him hang? It's not like he hadn't talked his way out of worse.

He winced as the car hit a dip, shifting the seatbelt's position across his chest. Jo took her eyes of the road a moment, frowning. "Maybe we should have Alison take another look at you."

"I'm alright." Without turning her head, Jo gave off a distinctly skeptical vibe. Zane added. "Just sore." He'd been so ready for their usual dance to resume, this new Jo who stood up to Generals and broke him out of holding cells left Zane a bit uncertain. Letting things go unspoken had left him antsy and gotten him nowhere, so Zane tried a new approach. "Why?"

Jo played dumb, like Zane would ever buy that. "Why what?" He stared at her a moment. She cleared her throat. "Under that jackass exterior, you're not so bad. Maybe."

Not caring about the seatbelt and his bruises, Zane straightened. "Really?"

Jo rolled her eyes at him. "Not what I meant. You're the opposite of my type."

Zane had no ability to resist asking. "And what is your type?"

"Kind, funny, considerate –"

"Boring."

Jo glanced away from the road. "Which we all know you're terrible at." Zane sucked in a breath, trying not to think Zoe and Lucas and Pilar that day in the jail. Usually, Lupo would continue along these lines for hours, pummeling him with one low blow after another. Today though, the Enforcer faded at his wince. "We need to find whatever's responsible for this mess."

Zane nodded. "So the General knows it wasn't me."

"He already knows that."

"He thinks I'm responsible for every incident in this town. Why should this be any different?"

"That's because, depending on what allegations we count, you are responsible for somewhere between twenty-five and forty-five percent of the incidents in this town." Zane tried not to be flattered that she knew his batting average. "And this time is different because I told him you didn't do it."

Yeah, she had. For the life of him, Zane could not figure out why. Jo Lupo might not hate him but she had never in two years given him the benefit of the doubt. Even if she decided that his security camera fix balanced out him witnessing her moment of weakness, that still left Jo standing up to Mansfield when, even if she cleared him eventually, she ordinarily would have let him rot in cell. "You know Lupo, sometimes I get this feeling about you."

"Feeling? Um, what feeling?"

His head hurt again. Zane gave it a shake only to be overcome by very familiar sensation. Before he slipped into unconsciousness, Zane uttered a single word. "Dizzy." In the distance, he felt the car still rolling on the road. The vibration of its movement increased significantly, prompting Zane to force his eyes open. The road flew by, trees approaching. He slumped over to the driver's seat, grabbing for the wheel.

* * *

As Jo came to, her drooping gaze noticed Zane passed out in her lap. She tried to remember her last few minutes of consciousness while he stirred. The moment he became awake enough to realize his position, he was up. The movement proved to be too much for Zane as he groaned, rubbing where the seatbelt had pulled across his chest. Jo reached over, hand outstretched to check for further injury when a knock on the window startled them both. Deputy Andy stood outside the vehicle.

"I wouldn't start the car. The area's a tad combustible. Allow me." With that, Andy rounded to the front of the car, pushing it out of the ditch and back down the road to GD.

As Andy pushed, Jo attempted to examine Zane. "Hold still." He swatted away her hands, halting at her next statement. "Zane, do I need to break out the taser?"

He smirked, eyes strained. "Well, if you really want me naked?" Zane rolled his eyes at her look. "If I agree to let Blake see me, will you get off my back?"

"Fine." Jo spent the rest of the trip back to GD pretending that Zane wasn't staring at her like she contained the secrets of unified field theory. As much as she had intended to draw Zane's interest, Jo hadn't planned on spending long stretches of time in enclosed spaces with him. Well, not yet anyway.

Unfortunately, Alison had already left GD to support her son in the rocket race. Jo made sure to keep an eye on how Zane was moving in case he got worse. They entered the tear-down lab at GD with Andy in tow.

"Greetings! Would anyone like to examine my burnt arm?" Deputy Andy's inquiry resulted in a flurry of attention from both Dr. Ramsey and Henry. Henry, after completing his examination of Andy, spoke. "Andy can't burn under normal conditions. Clearly, something unique has occurred."

"Dude, this is bad." Ramsey proclaimed from over by the crashed Sky Cruiser. He held up a small metal rectangle. "The fuel tank's empty."

Fargo chose that moment to enter, General Mansfield in tow. The Director wrinkled his nose. "The super-genius flyboy ran out of gas?"

Ramsey, answering his boss's question, intoned dramatically. "It's the TAP, man."

Jo saw the moment Zane realized the General was staring at the two of them standing together. He walked away from her towards the group of scientists, speaking as he did so. Like that would fool Mansfield. "Wait a minute. I crashed a quarter mile from the launch site. And, I was several hundred feet in the air when I noticed the effects. How much oxygen does this stuff make?"

Henry answered. "TAP is self-propagating. It is designed to work on a planetary scale. It will continue leeching oxygen out of the surrounding environment well past the point where you and I would find it fatal. Right now, the only thing constraining the propagation is Eureka's EM shield."

"Dr. Ramsey, what possessed you to create such a dangerous formula?" The General finally spoke, rounding on the morose scientist.

"Dude, don't hate the TAP. It's just doing what it's supposed to."

Jo frowned. "How did it activate?" Every eye in the room turned toward her. Jo took a few steps closer to Dr. Ramsey, placing herself next to Zane once more. "Dr. Ramsey when we spoke on the phone earlier, you mentioned that the TAP fluid needed a very specific EM frequency to activate."

Fargo yipped, scampering over to a workstation. He typed furiously for about thirty seconds before paling at screen. "The EM shield. We tuned it for the launch."

"Great. This is your fau-omph." Jo took the opportunity to elbow Zane on the less sore side of his body. It was really to protect him. Honestly. He glared at her a moment while Henry proposed his fix.

"Look, we can't do anything about the oxygen build-up. But those rockets, we cannot let them re-enter the shield. The resulting explosion would be catastrophic. If we destroy them now, we have time to solve the oxygen pr-"

"Holy crap!" Ramsey stood up. "TAP would make awesome rocket fuel." Every eye in the room went to the main display. While showing many rockets, only one currently had all the other entries beat by a not insignificant distance.

Henry asked. "Whose entry is that?"

While Fargo was generally clueless about most of his employees, the look on his face revealed dismay at his personal knowledge in this case. "Kevin Blake."

Jo's heart sank at the answer. "I'll go pick him up." Fargo waved her off, discussing self-destruct protocols with Henry. Jo was halfway to the door when in the corner of her eye, she saw Zane matching her stride. Without looking at her, he spoke.

"I can talk to Kevin, if you want. We get along."

"Could he be trying to impress you?" Zane half-smiled at her, eyes twinkling at the idea of someone wanting to impress little old him. Jo raised her eyebrow in response, causing him to sober slightly.

Zane frowned, shaking his head. "I think, his mom. She's been -" He paused, Jo imagined him choosing his next words carefully. "It's a lot of pressure for a kid."

When they were almost to the parking lot, a hand on her arm stopped her progress. Zane let go of her quickly, but stood looking at her a moment more before speaking.

"I just wanted to say, in case the town burns, thanks for not letting me hang for it."

Jo shook her head dismissively. "You didn't do this."

"That never bothered you before." Jo flinched. His voice hadn't been accusing but Zane was right. Before, she would have let the General haul him off no questions asked. Since the Rage Incident, Jo had acknowledged to herself that locking up Zane had only occasionally had anything to do with his guilt or innocence. He'd fought back of course but once caught, Zane had sat in his cell (that he could get out of in seconds) with only his journals and Jo for not-very-pleasant company. Jo didn't really want to think about why he had done that. Every time she let herself go down that path, her breath hitched and her palms went clammy. Instead of sharing the truth, Jo shuffled her feet trying to think of an excuse for her behavior.

"You've had my back a couple times recently." At his smirk, she punched him in the arm lightly. Jackass. Jo attempted a nonchalant shrug. "So, now, I got yours." For a second, Jo thought he'd stare right through her. Years of Special Forces training prevented Jo from fidgeting but it was a near thing. Finally, she broke the moment. "Come on."

* * *

As they rode over to "Café Diem", Zane wondered how this would go. When it came to tough-love conversations, Zane was usually on the other side. Of all the weekends for Carter to be out of town, visiting his daughter at Harvard. Not that Zane blamed him for taking a break considering how fast Dr. Fontana left town after the Rage Incident. Still, they could really use the Sheriff; at least he'd be able to keep Dr. Blake calm. Zane couldn't remember a time when those two were genuinely furious with one another, not even when Blake had been all set to marry another man.

Zane's datapad beeped, startling them both. He checked the display, swearing softly. Jo slumped in her seat after she parked. She whispered as she turned off car's ignition. "Damn."

Jo sat a few moments, apparently steeling herself for the conversation ahead. She and Blake were friends, had been for years. Zane tried not to watch her too closely but he recognized the look. Lupo appeared worn and brittle in a way that she never should. Weeks ago, when first confronted with this Jo, he'd almost insulted her again just to get some fire back in her eyes.

Now, Zane let her prepare herself for a conversation that would surely suck. As he waited, he wondered. How many times over the years had he put that expression on her face? That's not the right question, Zane thought. When he subtracted out his actual and reasonably alleged deeds, Zane was still left with a multitude of instances where Lupo hunted him down ready for a fight. While he had often alluded to his proposed methods of letting off some steam, Zane had missed the fact that Jo Lupo depended on him in a weird way to always be there, jackass attitude at the ready, to deflect and absorb her fury. It occurred to Zane that his ideas for deflecting and absorbing were far superior.

After several moments, Jo turned to him, her hand on her seat-belt. Zane tilted his head patiently asking. "Ready?" Jo could only bring herself to nod.

If it had been Zane, Jo would have stormed the café. But Kevin was a thirteen year old boy and for whatever reason, Jo wasn't going to have this conversation where everyone could hear. She pulled Kevin away from the betting table while Zane grabbed some chairs outside. Kevin, not realizing the situation, literally bounced out of the café.

"Zane! Did you see? I'm in the lead! How awesome is that?" He sat down with a triumphant flop.

"Yeah. About that, Kevin-"

Jo sat down next to Zane, watching Kevin closely. "Kevin, I know this race was really important to you. I understand that you wanted to win. But the way you did it is a problem. The TAP fluid can be very dangerous. We need to know how much of it you used in your rocket."

Kevin's jaw dropped. He glared at Zane. "TAP? I didn't use TAP. My rocket's hydrogen peroxide. Tell her, Zane."

Zane sighed, extracting his PDA from his jacket. He held it up for Kevin, pointing to a close-up of his rocket's launch. "Kevin, look at your rocket plume. It's blue. Hydrogen peroxide burns purple-white." Zane tried not to see the look of betrayal on Kevin's face.

Jo, voice steady, continued. "Kevin, that rocket released the TAP into our atmosphere when it launched. The EM shield tuning activated it. Now, we have a significant build-up of oxygen."

Zane added. "Those rockets burn until they hit the ground. We need to fix this-"

Kevin leaned forward in his chair, voice emphatic. "I didn't do this, guys!"

"No, you didn't." Both Jo and Zane turned at Dr. Blake's voice. She stood in the doorway of the café, not meeting their eyes. "Because I did."

"What?" Zane was out of his chair and pacing in shock. Blake tried to talk to her son but Kevin wasn't listening. He fled back into the café with a remark to Vincent to pull his name out of the race. At that, Dr. Blake's expression fell even further.

"What were you thinking?"

Blake hunched over at Jo's question. "I wasn't. I just – He was so excited and the test burns weren't going well and I just wanted everything to be perfect for him."

"Understandable." Jo and Dr. Blake suddenly remembered Zane was there. He added. "You didn't want him to screw-up so you did it for him."

Blake shot him a grateful look. Jo stared at him with an odd half-smile. If Zane didn't know better he'd think she looked pleased. Of course, he lacked any other data to compare it to because Zane could not ever recall Jo being pleased with him.

"Alison," Jo placed an arm around her friend. "We really need to fix this, okay?"

Dr. Blake sniffled a moment before nodding. Zane, suddenly desiring to be someplace else, offered to get Kevin. He maneuvered the sulking boy into the back seat of Jo's car, attempting to distract him with video game talk. Kevin limited himself to one-word answers. Having put up with Lupo and Carter's 'so-disappointed-in-you' silent treatment for two years, Zane told himself that Kevin was a total amateur.

Still, before they got to GD, Zane leaned in close. "Look, I get that everyone thinking you're a screw-up sucks when you're not. Man, do I. But, trust me, people thinking you screwed up when it's really because your mom tried to help you? That's not so bad compared to what all else they could think. And, honestly, Kevin would you have suspected your mom?"

"No." Kevin replied sullen. After a moment, he lightly kicked the seat in front of him. "I know what color hydrogen peroxide burns. I just didn't se-" He shrugged, finally looking at Zane. "I just didn't want to see." Kevin paused, his usually open face twisted into a disgusted expression. "A real scientist sees what they don't want to see."

Zane thought of two years spent being the town outcast because of one poorly constructed explosive and his inability to think beyond being pissed at Lupo or afraid of being bored too long. He replied. "If that's the criteria for a real scientist, then no one in Eureka would quality." Kevin's face relaxed. They spent the rest of the ride talking about the latest "Call of Duty" game.

By the time they got to GD, the rockets had already been destroyed. Well, almost all the rockets. Fargo currently had Larry on the phone, issuing forth stream of invective. When the diatribe was not pointed at him, Zane actually found himself impressed with the Director's skills in the "Yelling At Your Minions' category. The General fumed silently in a corner, not even looking at Dr. Blake when she confessed to using the TAP fluid to power her son's rocket.

Unfortunately, what everyone lacked were any constructive ideas for dissipating the oxygen. Zane was conferring with Mayor Deacon about possible ideas when Kevin spoke. "Guys, this is easy." The boy wilted slightly under the scrutiny resulting from that statement but he carried on anyway. "Hydrogen plus oxygen equals water. It would be a big bang but since the output is water, it would burn out before hitting the ground."

Zane and Henry shared a look before both diving into their datapads. Zane finished first proclaiming. "He's right. If the explosion didn't hit the ground, we'd be golden."

Fargo started to speak. "Kevin, wh-"

"Director Fargo, are you really going to listen to that boy?" The General, having remained uninvolved until now, suddenly crossed the room placing himself between Fargo and Kevin.

"'That boy' is a gifted scientist no matter what his age. And, his plan just might work."

"'Might'? You want to risk my facility on a 'might'?"

Fargo straightened, voice even. "Sir, his idea is technically sound and has the benefit of minimizing the negative effects of igniting the oxygen building up under the EM shield. "Might' is better than 'screwed', General. As Director of GD it is my call to make."

"I made you Director, Fargo. If this does not work, I can revoke the privilege."

Fargo stilled for a moment before staring past the General. When he finally spoke again, the fury in his tone shocked Zane. "I have a contract, General. One that applies even to you. And right now, the only thing you're doing is endangering this town and this facility by preventing us from pursuing every option available." With that, he stepped around the General, addressing Kevin. "What do you need, Mr. Blake?"

Kevin, eyes wide, gulped a little before answering. "Hydrogen, lots of hydrogen, some balloons with release stands, altimeters, O2 sensors and, um, detonators."

"I got plenty detonators." Everyone in the room turned to Zane. He shifted a bit. Jo rubbed the space between her eyes. Noticing the General's left eye twitch, Zane added. "We use them in the immobilization mines."

And it almost worked perfectly. The oxygen burned, it rained electrolyzed water and one lone rocket left to harmlessly impact in a field somewhere. Except for Larry being an even bigger jackass than Zane had ever dared. Aside from leaving out the self-destruct mechanism, he'd also scrimped on the guidance components. Which was crazy-stupid.

"It overshot the landing site. That's a residential area!" Deacon's voiced attempted to accuse Larry but, looking at him staring up at the screen all proud and idiotic, Zane knew it was a lost cause. In Larry-land, the grass was blue and Larry won the rocket race.

"Get emergency services there now! What's the address, Fargo?" Jo had her phone out, attempting to guide the firefighters.

"Oh no." Fargo stared at Jo, eyes wide.

"What's the address?"

Fargo gulped. "420 Coriolis Loop." Zane frowned. Why did that sound familiar to him?

In a move of uncharacteristic gentleness, Fargo came around the rocket control panel and placed on hand on Jo's arm. Zane's eyes widened. "Lupo-"

Jo abruptly turned and left the room. "Who-hoo! I won!" Larry started jumping up and down, not caring about the glares he received.

A couple weeks ago, Zane might have stuck around. Might have congratulated Larry for destroying Lupo's home, even if he was a clueless moron. Might have caught that look on Fargo's face and sat back to watch the fireworks. But today Zane chose instead to follow Jo.

As he left, Zane told himself this was just to prevent her coming after him later. Just to preempt her blaming him because, for whatever reason, he always took it. It had nothing to do with her hunched over stance after the Rage Incident. Even less to do with her expression in the car, gathering the strength needed to confront a friend's child.

She'd attempted to duck into one of the alcoves off the rotunda. But Zane knew that trick; he'd used this very spot often enough to hide out himself. Jo looked up as he approached. Zane expected wariness or hostile embarrassment from her. Instead, she merely acknowledged him with a nod before going back to staring at the floor.

"Larry's a douche." Her head came up, leading Zane to realize that he'd said that aloud. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, Jo answered. "Yep."

* * *

After his initial comment, Zane just stood there. No snarky remarks, no smirks, no offers to stay at his place. Jo huffed out a breath. She really shouldn't be thinking things like that. Larry had just destroyed her house. Her possessions. Everything. Her mom's music box. Her first ballet shoes (that only Carter and Zoe knew about). Her first throwing knife. All gone.

Jo didn't know how long she stood there, with Zane a few feet away. She wondered at how much had shifted these past two weeks. Before, she could not have imagined Zane doing anything less than taking full advantage of having her at a disadvantage. Now, Jo focused more on collecting herself than putting up a front. Because, somehow, she trusted that Zane followed her for reasons which had nothing to do with taunting.

Fargo's voice echoed from a hallway off the rotunda. It appeared the General was leaving.

Jo took one more steadying breath, waving off Zane's look of concern, before stepping out into the rotunda. The General and Fargo paused upon seeing them.

"Security Chief Lupo, I am sorry about your home."

"Thank you, General Mansfield." She swallowed. "I'll just go oversee the clean-up with Henry and Dr. Ramsey."

The General sniffed, voice hard. "I'm afraid that Doctor Ramsey will no longer be gracing Eureka with his presence."

"What? You can't do that!" Zane rushed up to the General, finger extended in the man's face. The General, oddly, made no move to halt the eruption of anger. "Ramsey is a solid researcher. It is not his fault his TAP fluid endangered Eureka, it's Dr. Blake's." Zane waved his hand in the General's face dismissively. "We all know you'll never kick out Dr. Stark's grieving widow. But that doesn't mean you get to slam Ramsey for his invention doing exactly what you and your research funding meant it to do. Hell, General if you're kicking people out for shit like this, why the hell am I still here?"

"I don't know. Why are you still here, Doctor Donovan?"

"Wha-um, What?" Zane faltered, expression stunned. Jo clenched her hands together behind her back while Fargo gaped from behind the General. Jo was working up the courage to intervene when Mansfield leaned towards Zane, voice deceptively even.

"You wreak havoc in my town, making everyone clean up your messes, dismissing anyone not as mindlessly rebellious as yourself. Aside from the occasional flash, your productivity comes and goes with your ridiculous moods. Why, Doctor Donovan, are you here? Please explain it to me. Slowly." The General tilted his head, waiting a reply.

With self-control Jo didn't think he had, Zane answered. "I'm here to find ten economically viable uses for TAP fluid before sunrise tomorrow." He paused. "Or you can frog-march me out of town with Ramsey."

The General stood up straighter. "Ten?"

Jo stared at Zane. Crazy delusional bastard. Zane, oblivious to her musings, replied confidently. "Ten."

"Very well." With that the General turned away. Mansfield made it less than five steps, only to be halted by Zane's voice.

"One, generating hyper-pure smelted steels." Zane smirked at the General's frozen back. "Like for materials research. Two, creating oxyacetylene welding fuels which because of their energy-rich state are strong enough to maintain a coherent flame in vacuum. Three -" He went on, several of the examples leaving Fargo gasping and fumbling through old project files on his PDA. Mansfield turned to face the onslaught of profitability hurled at him. As Zane spoke, his stance vibrated with defiance. When he mentioned an idea for improved tank propellant, Zane directed a look Jo's way that left her breathless and weak in the knees. He was thankfully too occupied to notice. The General stood impassive as Zane rattled off the final example.

Several long beats passed before either moved. Finally, the General's stern expression loosened into a pleased half-grin. "I hope that you enjoy working with Doctor Ramsey, Donovan." With that pronouncement, Mansfield dragged their fearless Director off with an air of triumphant defeat.

Jo left alone with Zane, watched as his body relaxed, leaving him shaking from head to toe. She came up behind him softly reminding him of her presence. "Hey."

He whirled, eyes wide before remembering who she was. Zane stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Hey."

Any other day, hell, any other couple of weeks, Jo would have not pushed her luck. Daring and unknown, she reminded herself. Some part of her just had to know. "Before or during?"

He shrugged, looking away. "What's it matter?"

"Well, 'before' is the act of a man willing to defend his fellow scientist and taking preemptive steps to do so effectively. 'During' is the act of a man indignant at a perceived wrong and immediately willing to put his own future on the line to correct it." Jo sighed, taking a risk. "I figured that it could be either one."

Zane's head came up, expecting some sign of insincerity. No matter how much her heart fluttered in her chest, Jo stared back willing him to believe that she meant it.

Jo told herself that his eyes were no brighter than normal. He answered. "A little of both."

She nodded, like of course that was the answer. Jo continued to stare at him, not caring what he could see or what he would say later. Two years ago, in a flurry of escape attempts gone wrong and town-saving, there was something they had forgotten. After two years, by any reasonable criteria, Zane had finally earned a correction.

Jo took a couple steps forward, entering his personal space. Zane stilled, arms stiff at his sides. He stared down at her, face curious and, if she read right, longing. She swallowed before speaking to his chest, not trusting herself to look up. "I apologize for the delay but-." She leaned forward, marveling at his strangled intake of breath as she whispered. "Welcome to Eureka, Zane Donovan."

Zane exhaled, causing her to look up. Eyes bright, he replied. "Happy to be here." As she stared up at Zane's face, Jo got it. He had risked getting kicked out of Eureka, but had not done so idly. It had been a choice and a costly one. Losing Eureka would hurt him in ways he'd never admit. Zane Donovan was exactly where he wanted to be: Standing less than eight inches in front of Jo, looking at her like she was jet packs and bright, shiny futures.

"Glad to hear it." Jo smiled up at him a moment longer before turning and fleeing, his gaze burning a hole in her back until long after she rounded the corner. As she did so, Jo was absurdly pleased that for once, he hadn't been staring at her ass while she walked away.

**THE END (for now)**

* * *

Coming soon...

_"You left."_

_"Yeah." He gave the soldering iron a couple swipes on a rag, placing it in a stand off to the side. As Zane turned to look at her, he blinked a couple of times, his eyes refocusing._

_ "Why?"_

_ "You said 'Don't antagonize him'."_

_"So you left?"_

_ Zane leaned in, eyebrows waggling. "Lupo, have you ever known me not to antagonize someone? Anyone?"_


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** See Chapter One

**Rating:** T

* * *

**Chapter Four – Crossing Over**

The sun shone. Birds chirped from their perches in trees lining Eureka's Main Street. On any other day, Zane Donovan would be sickened by such a perfect scene. But today, he just could not generate the cynicism to scoff. The last few weeks had been golden. Aside from the various dangers, Zane had his own lab and Jo Lupo treating him like an actual person. The fact that Jo stood next to him, sipping a Vinespresso was just icing on his breakfast danish. Speaking of which, those muffins looked really-

"Ow!" Jo's hand had snaked out and slapped Zane's before he got within a foot of the huge basket of baked goods they were guarding. "Come on! Like our VIP would miss one muffin."

"Fargo said these were for her. You are not a her."

"I'm glad you finally noticed." Jo shot a him an assessing glance before returning to nursing her coffee. She'd been doing that a lot lately. In another life, Zane would have said she was checking him out. While Zane had spent the better part of two years hoping for just such behavior from Jo, he wasn't quite sure if it would continue if he acted on those sideways looks. And he really wanted them to continue.

In the background, Zane could hear the bustle of the morning rush at Café Diem. Zane eyed the table that had been set up by the curb. Aside from the basket of muffins, Vincent had laid out a carafe of orange juice, a multilayered yogurt-granola parfait and several breakfast croissants. Zane frowned at the display. "Am I going crazy or is our fearless Leader trying to impress a girl?"

Jo mock-shuddered. "Disgusting as always, Donovan." The rebuke lacked its former bite. "Just don't antagonize him. He's really nervous." Jo gave Zane a little sideways half-grin. On any other girl it would be your standard 'please-I'll-make-it-worth-your-while'. On Jo, just wickedly hot. So much for flirting with the boss's maybe-girl. If expressions like that were his reward for not being a jackass for a little while, well, Zane would not be a jackass for months. Maybe even years.

"No problem." Jo graced him with a skeptical eyebrow but before she could further emphasize her point, their boss walked up.

"Excellent. You're both here!" Fargo bounced up and down in place. "Now, when she gets here, I want you both on your best behavior." Zane sniffed dismissively at the Director's pointed look. "I want her stay in Eureka to be as awesome as possible."

"Good Morning all!" Vincent appeared from inside the restaurant. He turned to Zane, coffee in hand. "I didn't want you to feel left out."

"Thank God!" Zane slurped the drink, not caring about its temperature. Over the rim of the cup, he saw Jo wrinkle her nose. He made sure his second "sip" was louder than the first. Jo shook her head at him but did so with a slight grin that she did not bother to hide.

Vincent now spoke to Fargo. "Anything else, Director?" The café owner's tone was respectful and absent any sarcasm. When word had gotten round about the Rocket Race, people in town had started treating Fargo with less ironic respect. While Eureka may depend on DoD funding, they did not appreciate Generals belittling the scientific acumen of their children.

Fargo waved Vincent off before questioning Jo. "Is everything ready for the tour?

Jo gave her boss an amused half-smile. "Yes sir. We have several demonstrations set up as you asked and I've requested all labs along her route to be tidied up."

Fargo clapped his hands together. "Excellent." Zane frowned. Jo was responsible for security of all guests at GD; Fargo was the tour guide. He really hoped the Director hadn't woken him up at 6:30 in the morning to join in the fun.

"Why am I here?"

Fargo blinked at Zane. "Oh, our guest is quite the unconventional genius. She also spent a fair amount of time on the run from the law." He fidgeted a moment. "I thought you ex-cons might bond." Zane stiffened, sending a look of embarrassed anger at the Director's back as Fargo ducked back into the café to get another carafe of juice.

Zane ground out. "Jo-"

"Relax. He's just-." Jo sighed, glancing into the café. "Fargo says and does stupid stuff when he's nervous. You can only really judge Fargo by how he acts in a crisis." Jo shrugged. "For whatever reason, he actually does pretty good then."

Zane thought about Fargo in his lab extending a datapad and a warning. He nodded before conceding with a half-grin. "He's not so bad out of a crisis either." Zane saw a flicker of understanding cross Jo's face. Curious, he decided to test the limits their new sharing-and-caring. "How long have you known about the cameras?"

Jo rolled her eyes, smiling. "Please, Fargo cannot lie. It's a good thing he was born into a family that already had security clearances." She took a step closer, placing a hand on Zane's arm. "Look, Fargo is a coward. But he will defend people. Only, he won't stand up for someone unless he considers it a sure thing."

"He stood up for me twice lately." Jo stared at him pointedly. "Ah." Zane felt something in him loosen. He stared a Jo a moment, smirking as a thought occurred to him. Her hand warm on his arm, he felt the fingers tighten as he continued. "You stood up for me recently too." Now he took a step closer to her, leaning down. "How do you feel about a sure thing, Lupo?"

Jo did not miss a beat, stunning Zane with her answer. "I feel good." Jo Lupo just admitted, well something about him and her. And she did it without RSS devices or drugs or wacky Eureka screw-ups. Zane's smirk melted into a grin. Before he could do anything fun with her answer though, Fargo came running up to the curb causing them both to step back from each other. "She's here! Everyone, places!" Zane rolled his eyes but positioned himself, by coincidence, next to the muffin basket.

A black sedan pulled up to the curb, its tinted windows hiding the occupants. The back door opened. Brightly colored tennis shoes appeared underneath the door right before it closed again. "What's up, bitches?"

Zane's eyebrows rose. A little young but she wasn't bad looking. Huh, Fargo liked quirky redheads. That kinda figures. Still, he had no intention of being the 'reformed' ex-con paraded out for guests. As Fargo introduced them, Zane plotted his exit. Thankfully, the girl gave him an opening.

"Donovan, right?" She gestured to herself. "Donovan. Coincidence?"

He snatched a muffin. "No such thing, sweetheart. See ya." Zane ducked onto the sidewalk, dodging into a group of scientists before Jo could stop him. As he turned the corner, Zane sent a taunting smirk over his shoulder at Jo. Yeah, so she'd be pissed later. Maybe she'd finally bite the bullet and come into his lab on her little 'inspections'. They could talk about the role of certainty in human relationships. Zane had a feeling that if he presented his hypothesis correctly, Jo might be willing to explore validating a case study.

* * *

Jo stalked into the elevator leading down to Section Three. Miss Donovan and Fargo were currently making the rounds. Jo had just completed her inspection of their route, leaving her free to speak to Zane about his little stunt this morning. She frowned to herself and the elevator walls. If she'd been paying more attention, instead of reveling in the look on his face when-She really did have a weakness for taunting him. Still, Jo saw Fargo's expression as Zane made his escape. Not anger but disappointment. After a bit of digging, Jo was fairly certain that she understood why. Now, if only she could convince Zane to stop being a jackass before Claudia left town.

Zane's lab was just off the maintenance area, placing him near access to all major utilities. Now that Jo thought about it, if Zane so chose, that could be a bad thing. While he'd been quiet on the pranking front lately, Jo wondered if she should increase her walks down here just to be thorough. Besides, she had a feeling that in this particular case, Zane wouldn't mind. The man himself was seated as she entered his lab. Without turning around, Zane greeted her.

"Finally decided to come in, huh?" Jo walked up to him. On the table spread out around Zane were a multitude of electronic components. Zane was soldering on a circuit board mounted under a magnifying glass. She waited until he completed the solder before speaking.

"You left."

"Yeah." He gave the soldering iron a couple swipes on a rag, placing it in a stand off to the side. As Zane turned to look at her, he blinked a couple of times, his eyes refocusing.

"Why?"

"You said 'Don't antagonize him'."

"So you left?"

Zane leaned in, eyebrows waggling. "Lupo, have you ever known me not to antagonize someone? Anyone?"

Jo had to concede that point. "Fine." A part of Jo relaxed. Another part fluttered. He'd done what she asked; granted, Zane had done it in his patented 'Let's kick over anthills' way. It appeared that with the right stimuli, Zane had a hidden capacity for cooperation. Jo sighed. Not what she came here for.

She picked up a part, idly passing it between her hands as she continued. "I looked up Miss Donovan." Zane sniffed, pretending to be disinterested. Like that would ever fool her. "Multiple counts of electronic fraud, hacking, trespassing, destruction of property, vandalism and even one kidnapping charge that went nowhere."

Zane hunched over, fiddling with the component he'd just finished working on. "Sounds charming."

"Oh, she is. Funny too." Jo placed her part down beside Zane. "In fact, she kinda reminds me of someone." Zane's head came up, expression wary. Jo continued. "Fargo wanted you around to show her that an ex-con was welcome in Eureka. That it wasn't a big deal."

Zane slumped a little, looking as close to distraught as Jo had ever seen. "Except that it is, isn't it?"

She leaned against the table next to him. "Which is my fault." Jo risked a glance at Zane, finding him close and staring at her in shock. Suppressing the urge to hug him, she continued. "You weren't- you aren't that bad. I just-" Jo gulped. "I just got used to blaming you and you took it, even when you didn't do anything. I, um, I guess I owe you for that."

"No, you don't." Zane countered. At his expression, Jo couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Why? Why take two years of that from someone you hated?"

"I never hated you." Zane replied vehemently, causing Jo's pulse to skip. His voice softened as he continued. "I should, you know? But I didn't. I don't. And sometimes, I really, really don't."

Staring at him, Jo believed that. Because sometimes, she really didn't hate him either. She felt herself blushing; saw the instant that he realized it. Zane's face transformed from earnest to knowing. A sure thing, Jo thought. Her breath hitched a little as he leaned in, left hand dancing along the edge of the lab table towards her when a voice interrupted them.

"Oh good, you're both here." Henry Deacon walked into the lab, appearing unaware of Jo and Zane's unprecedented nonviolent proximity. They both straightened. Zane shot Jo a frustrated longing look before addressing Henry.

"Deacon, what's up?"

"We have a situation." Seeing that he now had their full attention, Henry continued. "Several dozen redwoods just appeared. In the rotunda." Jo watched as Zane's face transformed from grumpy wariness to gleeful curiosity. Kids in candy stores. She followed Zane and Henry, thinking to herself that at least Miss Donovan would get to see Zane in action as part of Team Eureka.

* * *

Since her lab was directly beneath the rotunda, Zane got his first glimpse of Mrs. Deacon's workspace. He'd never really worked with her before, differing specialties and all. While ordinarily been quite roomy, with Henry, Mrs. Deacon, Dr. Blake, the Sheriff, Jo, Fargo and the Other Donovan all crammed in, the lab made Zane feel a bit claustrophobic. He made sure to keep near Jo and not open his mouth. Last thing he wanted was the return of 'Something's Wrong – Let's Blame Zane!'. He figured Jo had his back but some of the others, hey, better safe than sorry right?

Henry and his wife were examining the roots of the redwoods. The trees extended up through several stories of GD labs. Jo and Carter were busy on their phones getting updates. There was now a munitions bunker at Tesla High School and a rather impressive machine gun in the window display of the town dry cleaners. After they ended their calls, Henry and his wife summed up the situation.

"These trees are completely normal. Cellular structure and all our tests show no evidence of exposure to any exotic chemicals or radiation which could accelerate their growth."

Henry's wife, Grace if Zane remembered right, continued. "From what you've sent over on the other incidents they also show no evidence of abnormal manufacture or fabrication. We are testing material samples that Deputy Andy provided to further confirm that."

"Well, something's up. These trees blew right through the tungsten reinforcements in the GD building structure." The Other Donovan had removed a scanning device from her bag, holding up to the tree roots as she spoke. "So, are we lookin' at teleportation here?"

Both Dr. Blake and Fargo shook their heads. Fargo answered. "Teleportation research is outlawed by the Stockholm Treaty. There are only a few researchers in town whose work could be applied in that direction and they are very closely watched."

"Who's the most likely guy?" Carter asked.

"She-" Fargo placed emphasis on the pronoun. "is Doctor Lisa Wheeler, head of our Quantum Particle Entanglement Program. Let me check her schedule for today." He brought out his PDA.

Carter nodded, turning to Henry. "So, except for being inside, the Sherwood Forest is normal, huh? No weird rings or anything?"

"Dendrochronology! Brilliant Jack." Dr. Blake gave the Sheriff a congratulatory pat on the arm, distracting him from commenting further.

Grace nodded. "We can have samples ready in less than an hour."

Zane finally interjected. "For comparison, there's a grove of redwoods off the Scenic Loop outside of town."

Fargo nodded. "You and Claudia can take care of that. Henry and Grace can test the trees here. Carter and Dr. Blake will question Dr. Wheeler who is apparently working from Café Diem today. Jo and I will double-check open off-site research permits to see if anyone has been doing non-GD work of concern." Having issued his orders, the GD Director left the lab. Before following him, Jo shot Zane a look. He recognized the promise in her eyes when he saw it.

Zane found himself staring after her a moment, grinning. Whatever prompted Lupo to start actually talking to him, it appeared that the latest GD hi-jinks wouldn't be putting it off indefinitely. Considering where the conversation had been going before Deacon interrupted, Zane couldn't wait.

His excitement faded as his mind caught up to the fact that, despite his best efforts, Zane had still ended up playing the reformed-con tour guide for their visitor. He frowned at the now closed lab door. Zane was beginning to suspect that he'd greatly underestimated Fargo these last two years.

"So, ready to head out?" Claudia had appeared behind him, face eager.

"How do you feel about motorcycles?"

"I feel good." She grinned wider, tilting her head. "Any chance I can drive?"

"No."

After a quick stop to borrow some coring equipment from the botany lab, they headed out to the GD parking lot. A fair portion of Zane's trepidation about this field trip dissipated when the Other Donovan saw his bike. "Whoa!" Zane couldn't begrudge her enthusiasm. It really was a sweet ride. She walked a around the motorcycle couple times, ducking around him as Zane stowed their test equipment.

"If you're done drooling, can we go?" Zane handed her a helmet as she rolled her eyes.

One good thing about motorcycles, it's really hard to chit-chat while riding them. Zane had to give the Other Donovan credit though. She'd never even flinched as he took a couple of turns way over the posted speed limit. After they'd gotten to the site, Zane split them up, hoping to put get this done as quickly as possible. It took about half and hour for them to make their way to the center copse of trees. During that time Zane had learned three things.

One, the Other Donovan muttered, exclaimed and generally Never Shut Up. Two, she tripped four times over the same root, got her coring device jammed into a trunk twice and was probably the perfect girl for GD's accident-prone Director. Three, if putting up with this Donovan was anything like dealing with him, then Zane owed Lupo and probably his mother insane bouquets of flowers, chocolates and his eternal thanks for never shooting him.

"So, how long you in for?"

Zane froze, coring device suddenly heavy. "What?"

"How long have you been in Eureka?"

"Two years."

"Wow." She bobbled enthusiastically on the balls of her feet. "I hope I last that long at the warehouse. At least it's better than prison, right?"

"You were in prison?" Zane didn't bother to suppress his skepticism.

"Insane asylum. Same difference." Claudia's tone was light but Zane recognized the nonchalance for what it was. Changing the subject, she asked. "You?"

"Prison." He smirked. "Didn't last."

She mock-shuddered. "God, the food. I broke out early just to eat something that wasn't mush. Not to mention the boredom. Ugh."

"Yeah, boredom. Very dangerous." Claudia's joking expression faded at his tone. Oddly, she didn't appear too surprised at the change. After shuffling her feet a moment, she added in a familiar I'm-way-too-innocent-for-that-officer tone.

"I may have almost destroyed the Warehouse my first week there."

"Sheriff's office." Zane conceded, realizing as he did so that he'd never actually admitted that out loud before. If everyone already knew that you did it, then you got to skip right over the whole dramatic confession thing.

"Must be a Donovan thing, huh?"

"Yeah. They always keep my cell stocked with physics journals now." Zane grimaced, realizing that discussing lock-up probably wasn't what Fargo intended for Donovan-Donovan bonding hour. "I haven't been in there for a while though."

"Research journals? Damn. Artie just makes me do chores." Her voice took on a whining quality that instantly reminded Zane of Kevin Blake. However, Claudia quickly sobered. "Still, busy is good."

Zane wanted to ask, well, a lot of things. If she ever disassembled every appliance in the house just to give her hands something to do for a few hours. If she ever screwed up just to have a problem to solve, a crisis to avert. Because now that Zane thought about it, until his revelation that saving the day was preferable to ruining it, he had pretty much done anything he could for excitement even if it meant being a screw-up. And being a screw-up sucked. But, Zane didn't ask. She wasn't Eureka and, remembering Jo's words after the rocket race, Zane admitted to himself that he was.

Before he could suggest that they finish up, his datapad beeped inside his jacket pocket. Zane had forgotten that he'd tucked it in there. As he removed it and stared at the information demanding his attention, Zane frowned. "Donovan? You about done?"

"Yeah why?"

Zane's palms went clammy as his fingers tightened around the pad. If he was right- "We need to get into town. I gotta make a call." At least Lupo wouldn't need an exploding window to listen to him this time.

* * *

Jo and Fargo slowly made their way back to Grace's lab. She really hoped the others had better luck. After searching through all the open permits, Jo's brain was absolutely fried. If she had to read one more requisition for centrifuges- Her phone ringing cut off her thoughts. "Lupo, here."

"Jo?" Zane's voice sounded uncharacteristically freaked out. "I got something. The energy readings from the objects. They emit exotic particle radiation. Like Founder's Day."

"What?"

"Yeah. I sent my data to Fargo to check out." She heard Claudia's voice in the background and the steadily increasing bustle of what sounded like Café Diem. "I'm gonna send Claude and the tree cores back with Dr. Wheeler and Blake. Wheeler said teleportation's out and I kinda agree. Matter's not overlapping – it's displacing. I need to get some readings around town."

"Okay." Jo took a breath, adding. "Be careful."

There was a pause. Eventually, Zane responded. "No screw-ups. Got it." Jo pulled the phone away from her ear only to see Fargo respond to his beeping PDA.

"That's from Zane."

"Yeah." Fargo sucked in a breath as he read. "I really hope he's not right." He resumed walking. "Let's see what Henry and Grace have for us."

Aside from their completed tree ring cores, the Deacons didn't have much, and wouldn't until Claudia returned with the comparison samples. As they waited, Fargo and Henry threw around a couple of non-temporal ideas to explain the phenomena without much progress. During a pause in the conversation, Fargo suddenly turned to Jo, asking. "Where's our new historian, anyway?"

"Dr. Grant called in sick today."

Fargo tapped his foot a moment. "Well, I don't care. The DoD insisted we have a town historian. If Zane's right, then it appears that we need him. Call him up."

Jo brought out her phone. "Hold on, I have his contact info from when we did his orientation." She dialed the number listed under home phone and placed the device on a desk. Before it connected, Jo activated the speaker-phone.

"Grant residence. Hello?" A smooth woman's voice answered.

"Mrs. Beverly Grant? I don't know if you remember me but I'm GD Security Chief Lupo. We've had a situation come up. We really need to speak to your husband."

"Oh. I'm sorry. He's barely even conscious right now." There was a sigh. "I told him that 'Depot' place couldn't possibly be as good as Café Diem but-well, historians can't ignore living landmarks." She added in a grumbling tone. "Especially not ones with high-cholesterol breakfast specials."

"He has food poisoning?"

"I'm afraid so." A masculine groan reverberated over the phone. "Chief Lupo, if he comes to, is there something you wanted me to ask him?" Fargo shook his head. While Grant had DoD clearance for most GD projects, his wife did not. If Jo remembered correctly, she was an accountant or something.

"No. Please let us know if he needs further medical attention."

"Charles just has a sensitive stomach. He'll be fine in a few hours." Another groan echoed. "I'm sorry but I really should go. Goodbye, Chief Lupo."

"Goodby-" The dial tone cut off Jo's parting words. "Well, that's out." Before Jo could pocket her phone, it trilled. "Huh. Carter sent some pictures of a plane that appeared in Café Diem." Jo frowned down at the image on her screen. "Grace, can you display these on the main monitor?"

"Sure." Grace took Jo's phone and a few moments later, lab screens switched to the Sheriff's pictures. Jo leaned in, squinting. Fargo came up behind her. As he peered around her, he asked.

"See anything interesting?"

"I think Zane is right. This is a P38. They haven't made those since the late 1940s." Jo pointed to the markings visible on the nose of the plane. "The unit designation is from the cargo air wing stationed in Eureka from 1944 to 1950."

Grace frowned at the screen a moment. "We could do microfracture analysis on the plane. Confirm how long it's been in operation."

Henry grinned, kissing his wife quickly before picking up some equipment. "I'll head to the Cafe and do just that!"

As he exited, Claudia bounced in followed by Dr. Wheeler. As soon as Wheeler handed off her portion of the core samples to Grace, she turned to Fargo.

"As much as I would love for this to be me, all my experiments failed. I had nothing to do with this. Someone's-"

"Been messing with wormholes." Fargo nodded, causing Wheeler to visibly relax. "Help us track the exotic particle buildups and I'll see what I can do for you during your review next month."

The researcher smiled. "Thank you, Director."

"Jackpot!" Claudia bounced up and down in place. "It's temporal. Check it." She typed on Grace's computer a moment, bringing the core samples up on the main display. The difference between the samples was quite obvious even to Jo's untrained eye. Pointing to the black line, she asked.

"What's that?"

It was Grace who answered. "The Mount St. Helens eruption. It covered this whole region in ash. But-" She pointed to the other core sample from a tree in the rotunda. "this one has no black ring. Meaning, it predates the eruption."

Fargo slumped a little. "I hate it when Donovan's right." Claudia frowned at him, causing him to retract. "Zane, not you. You're significantly less annoying."

"Gee, that's sweet Doug." They stared at one another a moment while Jo and Grace shared an amused look. Before Jo could draw their attention back to the current problem, her phone rang again.

While the number was Zane's, it was Carter who answered. "Jo?"

"Carter? Where's Zane?" She hated how frantic her voice sounded but he'd promised no screw-ups. If Zane was hurt, she'd kill him.

"He's fine but he found something. I sent you some pictures. We need a security team out here." In the background, a man screamed. Jo recognized a few expletives and the fact that it wasn't Zane's voice. "Now."

"Where?"

"Warehouse behind 'Cafe Diem'." The screaming picked up again. "Hurry." With that Carter hung up. Jo was out of the lab and calling for her men to meet her in the motor pool not two seconds later. If Carter said Zane was fine, then Zane was fine. Still, Jo intended to have words with Zane about sure things becoming less sure when they take unnecessary risks.

* * *

Zane tried his best to ignore the asshole in the cage. Ever since he'd appeared, the man had been screaming at them. While, as a former prisoner, Zane understood the feeling, he really wished that the man would shut the hell up. The Sheriff walked up, holding out Zane's phone. "Any luck?"

"Jo's on her way." Carter paused a moment. "She sounded...concerned." Zane tried to suppress a grin and ignored the Sheriff's probing expression. Zane had no idea what Jo wanted from him right now, but he wasn't going to jeopardize it by over-sharing with Carter.

Zane dove into his datapad readouts, pointedly not acknowledging Carter further. This build-up of exotic particles happened everywhere there was an incident. The arrival of the jail cell plus one occupant had been the most significant build-up yet. If he was right, this could be really bad. A screech of tires brought him out of his thoughts. Not five seconds later, a group of men in body armor poured into the warehouse.

Jo entered last, not being in armor herself. Shame, with all this good behavior crap Zane hadn't got to see her in suited up in weeks. Noting that her men had already secured the prisoner, she approached Zane. Jo narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized Zane from head to toe. Not that he minded. "You're fine?"

"No screw-ups. I promised." Jo nodded before turning to a confused looking Sheriff. Before she could speak though, his phone rang. Carter wandered off, apparently talking to Dr. Blake. He got off the phone a few moments later, addressing Jo.

"A minefield just appeared outside of town. You got this?" Jo waved him off.

As Carter exited, Zane tilted his head in the direction of the screaming man. "What's his story?"

"This site was where the lock-up was back in the 1940's. That man," Lupo ground out the word. "was sanctioned for selling secrets to the Soviets." At Zane's look she added. "I recognized him from his file photo."

He grinned, despite the man screaming invective in the background. "You've read every incident file in the town ever?" Sometimes, despite being the Enforcer, Josephina Lupo demonstrated insane levels of brainy hotness that never ceased to make his fingers itch.

"It's my job." Lupo said it like 'the sky is blue' and 'you're a jackass'. Like of course she read every incident report in town and you are insulting her by ever assuming otherwise. She shrugged off further discussion on the topic with a subject change. "You were right about the temporal interference."

Zane's eyebrows went up. "Yeah, but what's causing it?" Lupo looked at him pointedly. "Oh, right. Temporal interference would only occur if something from then was now."

Jo frowned. "Could it be who or whatever came through on Founder's Day?" Although conclusively identified as a temporal wave, investigation hadn't revealed a cause or responsible party.

"Unless there's been any other temporal incidents in town lately? Definitely."

Jo gave him a quick smile. Before Zane could enjoy the sight too much, it faded. Her expression melted into a confused wince. At first, Zane assumed that she just had a rough work-out that morning. But instead of going back to business, Jo abruptly gripped her torso.

"Jo?" Zane frantically called to the security detail outside. "Help! Medic!" He turned back just in time to catch Jo as she staggered. "Jo! Hang on, okay? Where-"

"Chest." Jo's breath heaved; she barely got the word out. Before Zane could speak further, the medic appeared. He gave Jo a quick once-over before agreeing to let Zane move her. Jo passed out when Zane had lifted her off the floor of the warehouse, grimacing in pain before going slack. Technically, Zane had no medical training. Technically, the men on Jo's Security Detail were more than capable of carrying her both out to the car and from the parking lot of GD into the infirmary. Zane did the carrying, anyway.

Dr. Blake, alerted to their arrival, was ready. Under her white coat, a set of green scrubs peeked out. Behind her, a gurney and several medical technicians waited. She spoke to Zane in a careful tone that he would have otherwise resented. "Zane, please put her down." She led him to the gurney. "We've got her, Zane." He carefully placed Jo on the gurney, stepping back as Dr. Blake now moved him slightly to the side. "Tell me what happened."

He stared past the doctor at Jo; Zane stiffened as even unconscious she grimaced in pain while the med-techs worked. "I don't know. We were talking and she just dropped." He shook his head trying to think. "Chest. She said something was wrong with her chest."

Dr. Blake nodded. "Okay. I'll let you know as soon as I have something."

"Carter." Dr. Blake frowned at his non sequitor. "I should call Carter." She gave him one more reassuring smile before following the gurney into the operating area.

Zane stared after them, hearing the moment Dr. Blake found out what was wrong. A bullet? He took several deep breaths. Leave it to Jo to figure out a way to get shot without getting actually shot. Damnit. His fists clenched, one around his phone. It took Zane a second to remember why the device was in his hand and not his pocket. Man, this conversation was gonna suck. Zane dialed anyway.

* * *

It was the beeping that woke her. Every time Jo had ended up in GD's infirmary, that steady beep-beep-beep of her own pulse roused her from her stupor. Whatever other strangeness occurred in Eureka, it was a nice bit of constancy. Jo shifted, grimacing at the stiffness of her chest. But, she assessed before opening her eyes, the sensation had faded to a dull ache as opposed to the sharp pain she remembered before passing out.

Jo turned, opening her eyes to see Zane seated next to her bed staring at her intently. His hoodie was askew. When he noticed her awake, Zane leaned forward exhaling with clear relief. "Hey."

"Hey." Before she could ask what happened, Zane shifted.

"I got you something." He raised a magazine up into her field of vision. Zane shot a quick glance over his shoulder at Alison who was approaching. "I don't think Blake's letting you out for a while."

"Military Ma'am?" One of her favorites but not easily available.

Zane sniffed dismissively. "I know a guy."

"Ah." Jo smiled at him, taking the magazine. "Thanks." He stared at her a moment, as Alison approached Jo's bed.

"How you feeling?"

"Better. What's that?"

Alison held out a large bullet for Jo to take, voice disbelieving. "This was in your chest."

Jo's eyes widened as she examined the bullet. "This is a 50 caliber Browning aviation tracer."

Zane snorted. "Told ya she'd know." Alison graced him with a conciliatory nod.

"Collectors would go nuts for this." Jo knew because her uncle had been trying to get a hold of one of these for the last decade.

Alison frowned. "Why? They still make them."

Jo pointed to the tip of the bullet. "But they stopped painting the tips in the 1950s." She frowned realizing something. "This hasn't been fired."

Zane opened his mouth to answer her implied question, only to be cut off by the entry of several people into the infirmary. Carter rushed to Jo's bedside with Fargo and Henry trailing after him. "How's our patient?"

"I'm fine." Jo's proclamation ended with a wince as she attempted to sit up. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Zane hit the bed control. The half of the bed slowly rose up, allowing Jo to see everyone. She gave Zane a grateful look. "Thanks."

When she turned back to focus on the group, Jo noticed Carter frowning at her. Between that and his expression at the warehouse, Jo knew they were due a conversation shortly. Thankfully, Carter choose to focus on more immediate problems. "So, do we know what's happening yet?"

Zane nodded, extracting his datapad from a pocket as he answered. "A quantumchromodynamic confinement anomaly."

Carter huffed in exasperation. "Come on! You're just stringing words together."

Henry explained further. "What or whoever came through Founder's Day was seeped in exotic particles. These particles were entangled with particles left in the past. Now, they are attempting to pull together across time, like a big magnet."

"What can we do?"

Henry shrugged at Carter's question. "Without knowing what came through, nothing. We can only hope that whoever was responsible for the temporal wave realizes what is going on and corrects the situation."

Fargo responded before the Sheriff could say anything. "I think that they already have." At their expressions, he explained. "A batch of the Warehouse's neutralizing goo disappeared along with some of Dr. Blake's medical nanobots."

Alison paled. "These particles would tear apart a person on a molecular level." She paused, a thoughtful frown on her face. "The nanobots might be able to distribute the neutralizing agent throughout someone's system and purge it of these exotic particles."

"Well, now we know." Zane added, as they turned to him. "They brought a person through." No one had anything to say to that. In the distance, there was an odd rumbling. Fargo and Henry brought out their datapads, joining Zane in tracking energy readings across Eureka. Through the glass windows, Jo could see scientists in the hallway stand under doorways or away from power conduits; rogue temporal research tended to concentrate even the most typically ivory tower mind.

"Whoa." Zane pulled back from his datapad, expression stunned.

Henry blinked down at his screen. "It appears that they fixed it. The exotic particles have begun to dissipate."

Fargo, lowering his datapad, turned to the Sheriff. "Carter, is there any way we could do a discreet head-count of everyone in town? See if there's any surprises?"

Carter nodded. "Or we could just ask Vince if anyone's got 'relatives' visiting?" The Sheriff and Fargo shared a disturbingly predatory smile before walking out of the infirmary, plotting their unofficial census. Henry took in the tableau of Jo and Zane before making excuses to check in with his wife. Giving Jo a small smile, Alison disappeared across the infirmary leaving her and Zane alone.

Jo stared at the magazine he'd brought, trying to find the words to thank him. After several moments, he interjected. "You have to open that to read it." He shrugged. "Confused me at first too."

Jo smiled, fingers tracing the edges of the pages. "I think I'll save this. For when I'm bored."

"I figured you'd already be antsy."

She stared at him, making sure he understood her meaning. "I'm not." Zane's hand reached out, coming within a couple inches of her own before resting on top of the blankets.

He cleared his throat before speaking again. "That Donovan girl's not so bad." Jo raised her eyebrows, growing more stunned as he continued. "Never stops though or shuts up." He slumped over the edge of the bed. "Guess I should thank you for never shooting me, huh?"

Jo reached out, covering his hand with her own. "You're welcome." She couldn't leave it at that, not with Zane looking like someone just totaled his motorcycle. "I was only really tempted that first week." He winced, trying to pull his hand away. Jo tightened her grip. "You didn't mean to. I know. Only, you never apologized and with Zoe hurt-" Jo sighed. "It was hard."

She felt Zane relax, his hand slowly turning in her own. As his fingers intertwined with Jo's, they stared at each other. It wasn't the drugs that made her lightheaded. Jo didn't know which one started it but they were grinning at one another. Zane opened his mouth to say something only to be cut off by Alison's approach.

She put a box down on the bedside table, tossing a look of apology over her shoulder. "Sorry to bother you but I thought you'd want these close by." Alison gestured at the box. "It's your clothes and possessions." Releasing Jo's hand, Zane stood with a grin.

"How about I put this away until you're released?"

Jo frowned. "Actually, could you hand me my locket?" Zane looked down at her, eyebrow raised in curiosity. She added. "It was my mother's."

He opened the box, digging around a moment before freezing. Jo was just about to ask what was the matter when Zane shook his head. He abruptly pulled out the locket, handing it to Jo without a glance. After stuffing the box under the bedside table, Zane stood next to her bed, hands in his pockets. He stared at her for several beats, appearing to be on the verge of asking something. Jo stared back, trying to understand why a locket would cause such a change in his attitude.

He cleared his throat again. "Um, you need anything else?" Jo shook her head, brow furrowed in confusion. "I, ah, gotta go." Zane practically ran out of the infirmary, leaving a thoroughly baffled Jo in his wake.

* * *

Zane had been staring at the improbable scrap of black lace for the last three hours. He knew taking it hadn't been kosher. Way over the line even for him and Lupo. However, once he'd seen it in that box Zane couldn't not take it. It was evidence and as a scientist, Zane could not resist evidence.

He knew this material, recognized it even without checking the tag (although he did that too). He'd always thought Lupo had returned the lingerie he'd bought or, if the credit card company hadn't let her, thrown it all away. Zane, however, could not deny that all concrete evidence indicated that she not only kept the pieces but wore them.

Sure, when he'd first arrived in Eureka Zane had imagined Lupo in a number of different states of dress and undress. From the second he'd seen her, Zane had wanted Jo Lupo like breathing, jet packs and bright, shiny futures. Back when, well, back when he hadn't fully realized exactly how little chance he had, how unforgiving she could be. He frowned at the lace on his coffee table. Or how unforgiving she pretended to be?

The events of the past few weeks provided yet more evidence that a number of his assumptions about Josephina Lupo were dangerously unfounded. Don't tempt me, she'd said. And the more he thought about it, the more evidence piled up, the more Zane realized than he could and did tempt Jo. Holy shit, he really did.

He found himself breathing shallow, his pulse pounding in his ears. His hand reached out, fingers following the line the scissors had taken through the fabric. Two years. Two years Jo Lupo had walked around town wearing underwear he had bought for her while she handcuffed (maybe it was in a good way), tasered and at intervals kept him in a secure location only she had access to (which even when he was furious with her, Zane found totally hot). The callouses on his fingers snagged the fabric slightly, causing Zane to shut his eyes against the images that sensation brought to full Technicolor life.

Damnit. He needed to focus. The fabric crumpled in his hand. What a goddamn waste. Two years he'd wasted with not knowing, with not being able to do anything about knowing. This was never going to be worn again and everything else was destroyed with Larry blew up her hou-Son of a bitch.

Larry had blown up Jo's house. The house in which she had kept her lingerie. Meaning Larry, the unromantic bastard, had destroyed all of Jo's underwear which Zane had so thoughtfully bought for her. And whoever was responsible for these temporal incidents was responsible for destroying the only piece that had survived that. Zane slammed the scrap of fabric down onto his coffee table. Unacceptable.

* * *

Jo sighed. Carter had been great, taking her in when her house was destroyed. Even though they had discussed it, Jo suspected that he still felt a little guilty about the emotions prompting her meltdown during the Rage Incident.

She had been at Carter's for a couple days under strict orders to stay off her feet. While Jo had always joked with Carter about SARAH's meddling ways, in her current injured state SARAH prevented Jo from doing anything remotely fun. The house had even gone so far as to lock the downstairs storage closet because it contained a box full of what few personal weapons which had survived the rocket crash. That bomb-proof safe had proven to be a sound investment. Still, Jo thought, there's only so much reality TV a girl could watch.

"There is someone at the door." SARAH's voice interrupted Jo's thoughts. She turned off the television, moving to rise. "Chief Lupo, you do not need to get up."

"I know SARAH but I'd like to stretch my legs a minute." Rising carefully, Jo suppressed a small wince at the lingering ache in her side. While GD had medical technology advanced enough to prevent any major scarring, they could not completely erase the pain associated with major surgery. Taking a few steps toward the door, Jo called out. "Show me the security feed."

A screen appeared on the wall next to the door. On it, a delivery man pushed down on the doorbell without looking up from his clipboard. Jo frowned. "Open the door."

The delivery man did look up as the door swung open, blinking at Jo's position away from the door and therefore, unlikely to have opened it. He recovered quickly though. "Is a Miss Josephina Lupo here?"

"I am she."

"Great." He extended the clipboard to her, pen positioned over a dotted line. "Please sign here." Jo frowned but complied. As she did so, the deliveryman rolled a dolly with a stretch-wrap covered pallet into the living room. Because of the plastic, Jo could not tell what the pallet contained or where it was from. The delivery man exited up the stairs dragging his dolly behind him before Jo could ask. Well, she had been bored. Maybe Alison had decided to replace a few things for her to make up for (accidentally) contributing to her house getting blown up.

"SARAH, please let me into that closet." Jo paused, feeling ridiculous at having to justify herself to a house. "I need something to cut away the shrink wrap."

"Sheriff Carter keeps box-cutters in a kitchen drawer." SARAH clearly had no intention of letting Jo play with her own damn weapons until she was fully recovered. After the front door swung shut, she heard a drawer slide open in the kitchen. Jo sighed again but went to fetch the box cutters.

A couple quick slashes later, the plastic fell away revealing a three foot tall stack of boxes. Each box was discreetly labeled "Liz's" on the side. There was only one person who had ever bought her lingerie. While Jo wasn't exactly adverse to the gift, she did wonder what had prompted Zane to repeat his introductory gesture. After all, he couldn't possibly know that she actually had kept and worn most of-

Jo sat abruptly. She had been wearing a black camisole when she'd been not-shot. She frowned. Wait a minute. That camisole hadn't been in the box of her things when she'd dressed. Alison had made a run down to Jo's office to raid her emergency clothes stash so she'd be semi-decent for the ride home.

After taking a deep breath, Jo stood. Opening one of the boxes on top, she carefully moved the tissue aside. A familiar black set appeared. Her favorite, not that Zane knew it. Well, maybe now he did. Jo continued opening boxes, marveling at how he had exactly matched the previous order with only two exceptions. Instead of one black set, she now had many. Jo suppressed a grin trying to work out the logic of that one. The second anomaly was even more interesting. There was a deep purple set with a note in the box. In familiar handwriting, it said. "Blue set discontinued. Shame. This to replace."

Note in hand, Jo sat again. For a long time, she stared at the boxes now spread out on every flat surface of the living room. So long in fact, that Carter came home.

"What the hell, Jo? We never agreed that you got to redecorate." Carter huffed good-naturedly. He hung up his gun belt, idly picking up a box as he did so. When he got a look at the contents, he froze. "Jo?"

Her voice small, she explained. "Zane."

"What?" Carter dropped the box in his hands, shaking his head. "Guy can't take a hint, can he? I know he's been better lately but he can't be crazy eno-"

"Jack." Jo cut him off, knowing Zane had actually, finally gotten the hint. "This is to replace the stuff that I lost with my house."

Carter frowned. "But, this is the same-" He stopped, eyes widening slightly. "Huh." Carter thought a moment, taking in the number of boxes around the room. "You kept them."

Jo's fingers tightened on the note she still held. She attempted to shrug nonchalantly. "Yeah."

"It's just… I thought that you hated Zane."

"He never gave me any reason not to."

"And, if he did?" Jo fiddled with the box next to her, looking anywhere but at Carter. "Oh. Jo, I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Two years is a long time."

"Yeah." And because he'd been doing so much moping about Alison lately, Jo took advantage of the opportunity. "So is four years."

"We're a fine pair, aren't we?" He clapped his hands together. "If I help you get all this upstairs, can we pretend that we're not depressing losers?"

"Deal."

* * *

Two days later, Jo sighed as she did her paperwork. While it did in fact need doing, as Security Chief of GD Jo felt that she should be out securing something. Fargo, however, had barely let her back in the building. "Office work, only. I can't risk you being out longer, Lupo."

What she wouldn't give for a nice sit-down crisis right about now. Her door chime buzzed. Before letting whoever it was in, Jo gave the ceiling a look of exasperation.

"Chief Lupo! You have to stop him! He's a menace!" Larry rushed in before the doors were fully open, followed by Zane and Doctor Parrish.

"Lupo, you've got to keep these –" Parrish sneered at Larry. "Unstable elements out of our labs. They are hurting our productivity. We will not be held responsible for their disruptive behavior."

"What is going on?" She found speaking in a reasonable tone usually calmed people down. Not Larry, but Parrish would relax. Zane looked like the cat that ate the canary. Of course, he should. The past week everywhere Larry went disaster was sure to follow. Lab equipment exploded, computers crashed, automated carts veered towards him, there was even one frankly stunning prank involving a goose, a shower and hot bath oil. Although Jo would never admit it, she'd watched the videos for each incident several times. In the interests of correcting security holes.

Larry spent a whirlwind five minutes recounting all the pranks. If he'd been anyone other than Larry, Jo would be insulted at the implication that she was not fully aware of exactly what all occurred on GD premises. Parrish and Zane, long familiar with her near omnipotence, braced for the eventual explosion headed their way.

Zane damn well knew what he'd done and knew that she would know his signature moves anywhere. Parrish knew what Zane had done and knew that Jo knew and was trying defend his friend under the guise of minimizing the impact Zane's incarceration on their productivity numbers. Jo frowned. This would not do. Jo Lupo prided herself on being tactically surprising. If Parrish and Zane thought they could predict her moves, she would have to adapt.

"Zane did not do it." Jo's proclamation froze the room. Parrish's eyes widened. Larry sputtered indignantly. Zane, she did not look at. "He was with me during one of the incidents and I agree with you that they are all the work of the same person."

Larry's eyes narrowed. "Which incident? Doing what?"

Jo reached across the desk, giving Larry's hand a pat. "That awful goose!" She punctuated the gesture with a pitying look before continuing. "We were shopping. I was purchasing new handcuffs for the security details and since Zane wears mine so often, I thought it prudent to have a fitting."

Parrish released a gurgling cough. Larry was taking some time to absorb this new information. When she dared to look, Zane was staring at the floor. However, his shoulders shook and the man hadn't cried once in the two years Jo had known him.

Larry shuddered. "You mean there's a total stranger who wants to kill me?"

Jo shook her head. "I'm certain it's someone you know." Parrish 'coughed' again. "They're too familiar with your schedule."

"I'll have to switch things up." Larry's eyes brimmed with hope. "Could you speak to Director Fargo and tell him that you sent me home? For safety?"

Jo responded, face a picture of empathy. "Of course." A few profuse thank-yous later, Larry the moron who blew up her house fled from the building. Jo allowed herself a satisfied smile before dealing with the other two.

When she finally did face them, Parrish gave her probably the least sarcastic 'thank-you for your time' Jo had ever received from the man before making himself scarce. Zane, grinning like a loon, made no move to follow. Jo hit the door control before she thought about it too much.

At the sound of the whooshing door, Zane finally shook himself out of his reverie. Waiting a beat, Jo said what needed to be said. "Thank you." She did not specify if it was for getting her to the infirmary, buying her a couple thousand dollars worth of underwear or smiting the living hell out of Larry.

He shrugged. "No problem." Zane's mouth opened a couple of times. Jo idly bet herself a Diet Coke that he'd ask about her undergarments. "For future reference, in a different much sexier universe, would I deserve to know what color right now?"

One Diet Coke, Jo. Pay up. She stared at him a moment. Counter to expectation, he was not smirking. "I don't know. Would you?" Zane deflated a little, turning towards the door. She shouldn't. Jo knew she shouldn't. But the goose prank was a work of art and he had done it for her.

"Purple." Zane's fingers hovered over the door switch. Jo decided to temper her concession. "Although, it would be black if the last half of my favorite set hadn't disappeared from the infirmary."

"Thrown away." Zane faced her. "They cut it off." He shuffled his feet a moment before speaking. "I'm certain that you have plenty of black now."

"Oh, I do." Jo moved papers around her desk a moment. "What I'm supposed to do with eight matching sets is a little beyond me."

She looked up to find Zane staring at her with unashamed heat. "Well Lupo, that's just a failure of your imagination." At that, Zane hit the door control and ducked out of the room with a wink and a smirk. Damn him. Jo fumed. Her imagination was plenty good.

**THE END (for now)**

* * *

Coming soon...

_Placing his datapad on the table, Zane picked up the robot. As he rotated and examined the wriggling device, he asked. "It malfunctioned? That's hardly worth waking up a guy at the crack of dawn."_

_"It followed me into the shower." Jo ground out._

_"There's footage of you naked on this thing?" Zane's fingers tightened around the squealing robot. "How can I help?"_


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:** See Chapter One

**Rating:** T

**Additional Notes: **This Chapter contains a small spoiler for the second half of Season 4. However, if you don't already know it, then you'll probably never know that it's there.

* * *

**Chapter Five – Momstrosity**

Zane had put if off long enough. He'd gotten his vengeance on Larry and gotten smoking hot justice from Lupo in return. But Jo's comment in the infirmary could not go unanswered. Zane may be slow about some things but he got the message. If he planned to move forward with whatever they were, then Zane had to fix it. Jo would be back on full duty tomorrow; Zane would be ready if it killed him.

Pilar, he'd already taken care of. A few strategically placed cameras in the boy's locker room at Tesla and the girl 'never wanted to hear him mention that awful day again'. Lucas's Skype call had been the previous night. They'd made their peace down in that old bunker last year but Zane could tell Lucas appreciated the call. His request had been understandable. When the holidays came around, the Sheriff would not have time to harass his daughter's now ex-boyfriend. With the easy parts down, Zane decided. Tonight's the night.

As he readied his computer, Zane fumed. Stupid good deeds pile up one on top of another. It never freaking ends. The application dialed, giving Zane a few seconds to calm himself down. He could not afford to screw this up. Dealing with Carters was tricky business.

Zoe Carter's face appeared on his screen, frowning in surprise at seeing him. "Zane?"

"Um, hey, Zoe. How's Harvard?"

"Great." Her frown deepened, perceptive Carter eyes noticing his discomfort. Shit, he needed to get this over with.

"Ah, look. I've been turning over a new leaf."

"Yeah, Jo mentioned that."

He paused, a little winded by the idea of Jo admitting such a thing. "Really? Okay, well, um, it occurred to me that I never apologized to you for the whole thing with the jail and the, um-"

"Sucking chest wound?" Zoe finished for him. No mercy Carters, not many people know that about them.

"Yeah, that." He cleared his throat. "So, if you ever need anything, just let me know. I, ah, got your back."

Zoe narrowed her eyes, tilting her head as she regarded him. "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Well," Zane tensed, that drawling out of the syllables only meant one thing: A Carter had you on the ropes and knew it. His mind so flooded with doomsday machines built in service to this ridiculous guilt trip that he almost missed her actual request. "I've got this Physics class. It's kicking my ass. How about you help me with it and we're square?"

Zane now regarded her, forehead wrinkling. "That's it?"

Zoe smiled, so like her father that Zane blinked at her expression, all perky and demanding. "That's it." Physics homework. He nodded. That was doable. Huh. Maybe he should have done this earlier.

* * *

Jo let spray of water wake her up as she mentally ran through the upcoming day. Apply shampoo. Eight am: meeting with Fargo and Alison about his upcoming camping trip. Rinse. Nine am: NLWP update with Parrish, who finally got approval for a large prototype run of the immobilization mines. Apply conditioner. Ten am: briefing with her security team chiefs to review upcoming cross-training. Rinse. Eleven am: lunch in Zane's lab. Jo smiled to herself.

After she returned to full duty, Jo had resumed her trips through Section Three. Unlike before, Zane had decided that she was not allowed merely to pass through. The first day, he'd been waiting with his lab door open and drew her into a conversation about the EM shield. The second day, he'd been eating lunch next to a "lonely" banana-blueberry whey-protein smoothie. The third day, there had been a chicken caesar salad and a cup of minestrone soup waiting. So it had continued for the last week. Each day Jo walked through Section Three right before lunch. Each day Zane's lab would be open with food enough for two. Jo was beginning to develop a fondness for her lunch hour.

She was about to start going through her afternoon when a chill hit her. She shivered, raising a hand to check the water temperature. But the water was how she liked it, almost hot enough to scald. Jo started to turn, wondering what coul-

The door to the shower was wide open. Knowing Carter was a late riser, she hadn't bothered to shut the bathroom door either. A keening electronic whine echoed in the bathroom, causing Jo to look down. A small robot sat just outside the shower, little mechanical arms outstretched up towards Jo. Son of a bitch. She reached for her robe. Zane had better look fucking adorable when rousted out of bed or he was a dead man.

Jo barely remembered to tie her robe shut as she stalked to her bedroom and grabbed her phone. It took several rings but finally, Zane answered. "mfsdph, Hello?"

"Get over here, now."

Zane instantly sounded more awake at her Enforcer voice. "Jo? It's like six am."

"Zane."

"Fine." With that he hung up. As he did so, Jo realized that meeting him in a bathrobe and nothing else was probably not the best way to convey her displeasure with his stunt. Glancing at her bedside clock, she hoped there was time to change. Depending on his degree of guilt or worry, Zane could arrive either quickly or really, really slowly.

Thankfully, she arrived downstairs dressed in jeans and a shirt with plenty of time to spare. Placing the offensive robot on the dining room table, Jo got coffee started knowing that the caffeine would help her not shoot Zane. On one level Jo didn't know why she was surprised. Jo had no illusions that Zane had magically stopped bucking authority or infuriating her. If she was completely honest with herself, Jo admitted that she actually, maybe was attracted to his complete inability to color inside the lines. She pushed the 'Start' button on the coffee-maker with a little more force than strictly necessary. Still, a girl's got to take a stand somewhere and 'No Robots In The Shower' was as good a place as any.

"Mr. Donovan is at the door. Should I let him in?"

Jo took a deep breath before replying. "Yes, SARAH." As Jo re-entered the dining area, Zane came bounding around the stairs.

"What's going on? Something explode?" He dropped his backpack on the floor, datapad already in hand.

Jo tried to keep her voice even. "I had a situation this morning." She gestured to the robot on the table. As Zane faced to it, the robot outstretched its arms. The device bobbed its head back and forth with pleading beeping noises.

Placing his datapad on the table, Zane picked up the robot. As he rotated and examined the wriggling device, he asked. "It malfunctioned? That's hardly worth waking up a guy at the crack of dawn."

"It followed me into the shower." Jo ground out.

"There's footage of you naked on this thing?" Zane's fingers tightened around the squealing robot. "How can I help?" His expression was intrigued but also unmistakably surprised.

Jo frowned, now freaked out for a different reason. "You didn't send this into my shower?"

Far from insulted at the accusation, Zane smirked as he replied. "Jo, if I made any plans involving you and showers, they would involve you, showers and me."

Her anger evaporated. "Oh?"

Jo crossed her arms, unable to suppress a grin. Before she could make inquiries about these theoretical plans of his, Carter stomped down the stairs, yelling. "Jo did you have to use all the hot water again? Oh, hi Zane."

"I called him over because I found this in my shower." Jo waved at the robot now in Zane's arms. At the Sheriff's frown, Zane added.

"It wasn't me."

Carter nodded, speaking slowly. "I know that." His face screwed up in an expression Jo recognized. She was not going to like this. "Kevin was over last night. That's um, his Parenting Responsibility assignment."

Jo blinked trying to reconcile the nice, sweet Kevin that she'd played laser tag with last year with the kind of pervy teenage boy who would pull a stunt like this. Zane snickered, earning glares from both Carter and Jo. "Hey, at least he has taste."

Jo smacked him lightly in the arm, not that it prompted Zane to show an iota of remorse for his comment. Carter held out his hands. "Here, I'll talk to Alison before Fargo, Henry and I leave today." After situating the robot in his arms, Carter gave Zane a thoughtful look. "You could join us. The Great Outdoors." Carter drawled out the phrase in what Jo knew he thought was an enticing manner.

"He's busy." Both men turned to her.

Zane nodded, voice sarcastically disappointed. "Yeah, big plans." Carter shook his head but left them alone, taking the robot to Alison's for a chat. As SARAH's front door clanged shut, Zane leaned in whispering. "What plans?"

Jo sniffed, not looking at him. "I'm tired of lunch. Today, we're having dinner instead."

"No." Jo's head snapped up to find Zane grinning down at her. "Let's do both."

Jo swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "Okay." It occurred to Jo that as enjoyable as well-behaved Zane had been, she had honestly been looking forward to not-so-well-behaved Zane. He took a step closer when SARAH's voice interrupted.

"Deputy Andy is at the door. Shall I let him in?"

Zane let out a frustrated huff, causing Jo to shoot him an apologetic look before replying. "Sure, SARAH. Let him in."

* * *

After leaving Jo with Andy, Zane headed into work. No way was he going back to sleep with images of Jo and showers running through his head. If Andy hadn't shown up-He shook his head. Early or not, Parrish would appreciate a hand preparing for the IM prototype kick-off meeting. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. Parrish took one look at him and knew.

"I see that Lupo has finally yielded. When is the auspicious occasion?"

Zane frowned. "We're not getting married. It's dinner."

Parrish graced Zane with a look of condescension usually reserved for very slow junior scientists. "I find it interesting that you interpreted the question to be referring to matrimony. When is your 'date'?" Parrish said the word like it offended him in a previous life. Now that Zane thought about it, considering how many dates Parrish had not been on since Zane had known him maybe that was true.

Zane smirked at his former supervisor. "How much?"

Parrish straightened up his desk a moment. "I beg your pardon?"

"How much and what's my cut if I help you win?" Everyone in town knew Vincent kept bookings on interesting happenings. The entries in the Lupo-Donovan pool had always given Zane excellent ideas for annoying the Enforcer. Well, they used to anyway.

Parrish sniffed before replying. "200 by next Tuesday." The scientist stared at Zane a moment. "A popular bet, I believe." Yeah, so he and Jo's lunches weren't exactly on the down-low. Not that Zane had ever intended them to be.

"I think you're fine on that one."

For a second, Zane thought Parrish would push it. He had no idea what changed the scientist's mind but when Parrish opened his mouth again it was to issue instructions to sort parts. The subject effectively changed, they began preparing for that morning's meeting.

A meeting which Zane never got to attend. Thirty minutes into helping Parrish, he'd gotten a call about a malfunctioning cargo loader in GD shipping/receiving. Within an hour, Zane was swamped. It appeared that every AI in GD had decided to go on the fritz the same day. He stalked from server rooms to labs, steadily growing more furious. It would be a cold day in hell before Zane would miss his date tonight. Not after waiting for two years. Not when Jo asked him.

A beeping from his phone demanded Zane's attention. The infirmary? He about-faced in the middle of a hallway. Great, Dr. Blake would take one look at him and pull her 'I'm So Concerned' routine. Which would work. Zane exhaled, nostrils flaring. Maybe it was a good thing she and Carter never hooked up. The idea of them double-teaming the world with their freaky 'let's all talk about our feelings' superpowers was pretty damn terrifying.

Zane dearly wished that he could slam open the infirmary door. That would show Blake. Unfortunately, it politely slid open as he approached. Inside, Dr. Blake waited thankfully distracted and not alone. Larry sat on a nearby bed, holding mirror in front of his face in a wholly unconcealed panic. Next to Blake, Jo stood stoned-faced. For a split second, Zane failed to suppress the old worry about unfounded accusations and anger management. That is, until he noticed the clear relief in Jo's eyes upon seeing him.

"What's up?"

Larry yelped at Zane's voice, standing abruptly. "Excuse me." After handing the mirror to Dr. Blake, Larry walked around Zane and out of the infirmary without another word.

Dr. Blake huffed, gesturing to a smashed control panel. "My scanner tried to kill Larry." Frankly, Zane didn't blame the scanner. "It started a brain dissection against my explicit orders."

Zane's eyebrows rose. That should not happen. Frowning, Zane sat down at Blake's desk. As he brought up the interface for the scanner, he felt Jo come up behind him. "Parrish mentioned that you were busy?" While her tone was nonchalant, Zane heard it. Even with seeing her that morning, he'd missed her too. Short of spending a day off together (which was on Zane's 'To-Do' list), seeing each other throughout the day at GD was the next best thing.

"Yeah, I've had eight different calls for AI troubles this morning. Even for GD, that's a glitchy day."

Dr. Blake interrupted. "I'd say the glitch that tried to kill someone has priority. Fix it."

Blake had a little Enforcer in her, too. Good to know. Zane smirked. "One day in charge and already giving orders…I like it."

He heard Jo mutter over his shoulder. "You would." Zane shot her a quick glance, allowing himself a moment to enjoy the unabashed amusement on her face. His terminal beeped, recapturing his attention.

"Huh." He typed a few commands.

"What is it?" Jo leaned down, a vaguely floral scent hitting Zane. He knew Lupo didn't wear perfume. There are only so many times a woman can tackle and handcuff a man before he notices these things. However, his brain suddenly put together that after that first day in his lab she'd always had something on during their lunches. Zane gave himself a mental pat on the back before answering her question.

He pointed at the screen. "This subroutine. It's been in all the systems today. But-" Zane frowned. "I'm not sure what it does." He hit a few more keys bringing up a change-log. "It's new, too. Added this morning."

"Find out what it does." Dr. Blake thought a moment before adding. "If you need someone else to take care of the maintenance calls, let me know."

Zane didn't hesitate. "I need someone else. If I'm going to get this code figured out, I can't be running around GD." Not to mention, fixing all the AIs and tracking down code would put dinner with Jo in the sure-as-hell-not-this-week category.

"Any suggestions?" At Blake's question, Zane's mind flashed onto something, well, crazy. He grinned. Parrish had been having a good bit of fun lately at his expense.

"Parrish and Dr. Holly Martin. He knows most of the equipment around here and she's good with software workarounds." Both facts were completely true. If Zane had happened to catch Parrish staring at the good Doctor Martin occasionally, well, the guy could use a pick-me-up.

Blake nodded before pulling out her phone to make the calls. As Zane went back to typing, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and a voice in his ear. "Smooth, Donovan."

Zane turned to grin at Jo, only to find himself sorta accidentally staring down her blouse. At very familiar black lace. He took in a strangled breath. Had she been wearing those during every lunch?

His hands frozen over the keyboard, Zane looked up at Jo. She tilted her head, a small smile on her lips and 'Gotcha' in her eyes. Staring at her, Zane felt his shock fade into something much hotter. Zane opened his mouth, hopefully to say something which would result in him and Lupo being tucked away in a supply closet for most of lunch. Unfortunately, that's when Jo's phone rang.

"Damnit!" Zane swore under his breath. Jo ran her hand over Zane's shoulder before answering. The touch struck Zane as a combination of teasing and reassuring. It did nothing to ease his frustration.

"Lupo here." Zane didn't even pretend to go back to work. Jo rolled her eyes at his blatant eavesdropping but didn't move away. "Is it serious?" Jo sighed at the reply. "Fine. I'll be there in ten." She hung up, looking about as disappointed as Zane felt.

"There's a problem at Café Diem." She bit her lip, causing Zane lose focus for a second. "How about I get lunch today?"

So, no supply closet. However, based on the fact that supply closets were now a valid possibility, Zane grinned anyway. "Sure." As he watched her exit the infirmary, Zane promised himself that whatever happened today he and Jo would be having a very interesting conversation at dinner tonight. He'd been good and patient because Zane understood that convincing Jo of anything was not a task to be rushed. But, 'good and patient' was not Zane's natural state. Judging from the look on Jo's face before the phone rang, it probably wasn't hers either.

* * *

Jo breezed into Café Diem. Although she hadn't intended to up the stakes with Zane, she found herself absurdly eager for their dinner. While Zane had never made any secret of his attraction to her, recently Jo began to wonder. Two months ago, she never would have guessed that Zane would have the motive, means and opportunity to act on his attraction and not do so. Whatever had been holding him back, judging by the look on his face in the infirmary, Jo doubted it would be a further concern. Jo smiled to herself. If there was one thing the last two years prepared her for, it was winning a test of wills with Zane Donovan. He was toast. Incredibly hot super-genius toast. Jo shook her head as she walked up to the counter next to Deputy Andy and what appeared to be an irate customer.

Seeing Jo, the man turned holding up a to-go box. "Look at this!" Inside the box, were wilted leafy greens. "Kale!" The man shook the box at her before tossing it on the counter. He pointed to AI Vincent. "I ordered a bacon cheeseburger!"

AI Vincent just pursed his simulated mouth, telling Jo. "Look at him. Does he really need the cholesterol?" AI Vincent sniffed, glancing at the irate customer before adding in a stage-whisper. "Or the calories?" Vincent came from behind his avatar, shaking his head.

"Do something! He refuses to meet unhealthy orders. I'm losing customers."

Jo countered. "Vince, you're one of two restaurants in town and the Depot is hardly competition."

Vincent noticeably calmed at her praise but still repeated. "Do something, please." With that he picked up a stack of to-go cartons and began moving about the café exchanging the 'improved' orders for the actual ones the customers made. Now that Jo took the time to look around, it was clear all was not right at Café Diem. Usually Vincent's effervescent personality and the food ensured that the atmosphere was upbeat and cheery; today, people waited sullenly at their tables. Jo noticed one table almost flinch when a waitress delivered their food. It appeared that AI Vincent had shared his opinions quite widely.

Jo felt momentarily abashed. If she hadn't been thinking about Zane, Jo knew that she would have caught the change in the air prior to speaking to Vincent. Stupid distracting Zane. She blinked, a thought occurring to her. This was weird but not exactly worth the trip. Finally acknowledging his presence, Jo asked Andy. "Why didn't you just tell me this over the phone?"

"Because I wished to speak to you!" Andy grinned. "Do you know that your face is almost perfectly symmetrical?" The robot closed in, examining her face with maniac interest.

"No." Jo leaned slightly away, hoping this really wasn't what she thought it was. Unfortunately, her instincts were correct.

"Allow me to share a bit of verse that I wrote to commemorate your positive attributes." Andy cleared his throat, prompting Jo to wonder why someone had bothered to program that in. "I know that I shall never know a creature as lovely as my Jo; this morning's breath I smelled so sweet with hints of cheese and last night's meat." Andy ended with a smile, gazing at Jo hopefully.

Jo blinked. "Andy, um, I'm sorry but-" She glanced over her shoulder. Both Vincents were relatively far away and no one was paying them much attention. "I'm currently seeing someone." The door jingled, promising Jo an exit from this conversation. Nothing wrong with a tactical retreat. "I gotta go."

She hadn't taken two steps when Jo heard Andy's inquiring tone. "Is this what heartbreak feels like?"

Jo tried to ignore the stab of guilt; robot or not, the brush-off had been a bit abrupt. Why did the robots in this town always have to be-Jo turned around, realizing something. "Andy, when did you start liking me?"

"6:57 this morning."

Ah-ha! When she found the scientist responsible for inflicting bad robot poetry on her, Jo would so kick their ass. Slowly. With a dull knife. "Andy, I think you should come back to GD with me."

He perked up. "Of course!"

A waitress passed by them, reminding Jo of her promise to Zane. Not to mention, Alison was probably hungry as well. Hand up to halt Andy, she turned to the first Vincent she saw. "I need a to-go order."

"Of course, what can we get for you?" Jo belatedly realized that this Vincent was wearing an apron, and had a slight flicker.

Jo thought of the gusto with which Zane usually attacked his guacamole cheeseburgers. She shook her head. "I need to speak to real Vincent. Now." Amazingly, her Chief-voice worked on the AI.

* * *

Zane swore under his breath. This made no freaking sense! Having learned all he could from the infirmary scanner, Zane had moved to the main data bank for GD AIs. Dr. Blake, while not pestering him for answers every five seconds like certain other GD Directors, followed. Every level 6 AI in Eureka now had this subroutine and they were all malfunctioning in some way or another.

Blake had even put in a call to the GD Robotics Lab just to verify that they weren't responsible. Not only were they as frustrated as anyone by the malfunctions, but Zane's trouble-shooting team got a lot bigger by the time the phone call ended. Zane glanced at Blake out of the corner of his eye, absurdly grateful that she and Carter had decided to use their persuasive powers for good.

Zane stared at his screen as various systems diagnostics ran. He was just about to swear louder when he smelled…cheeseburgers. Zane swiveled his chair, thankful for the distraction. Jo stood behind him, to-go boxes in hand. An equipment cart slid into position nearby, Dr. Blake right behind it.

As Jo divided up the food using the cart as a table, Zane noticed Deputy Andy taking a seat as well. "What was up at Café Diem?"

"AI Vincent." Jo did not look at the robot seated behind her. "And, Deputy Andy." Dr. Blake also pulled up a chair as Jo sat and opened her lunch. Unlike the lunches Zane had bought for her, this one possessed more taste than nutrition. Another cheeseburger. Zane was about to make a comment when he noticed Dr. Blake's lunch was also shockingly unhealthy.

Seeing his expression, Dr. Blake explained. "Jo and I have a bit of a tradition when Fargo is unavailable." She inclined her head at the burgers and fries now covering the top of the cart. He almost didn't hear her next comment as Jo picked that moment to take her first bite, emitting the single freaking hottest moan in the history of onomatopoeias. "To commemorate the occasion."

Zane shook his head, an act which allowed Blake's words to get processed through his Jo-filled haze. "I thought you both liked working for Fargo?" Jo took a moment to swallow, wiping her mouth with a napkin before answering.

"I do." She gestured between her and Blake. "We do. But-" Jo continued with breathy, fake excitement. "The boss is away. You have to do something." Blake nodded as she took a bite of her hamburger.

"You rebels." Zane leaned back in his chair. "Stickin' it to the man." Granted, their form of rebellion was supremely lame. Cheeseburgers? Please. Nevertheless, as he tucked into to his burger, Zane couldn't help but wonder. Were there any other anti-authority tendencies lurking under Jo's hard candy shell? And if so, how much fun was it going to be finding out about them? Glancing at Dr. Blake, who was the least obviously rebellious person on the planet, Zane had a sudden wish to talk to Sheriff Carter. Considering how well he and Blake got along, if anyone knew how to bring out hidden impulses in complex, scary women without getting shot, then it would be Carter.

Jo picked up a French fry, interrupting Zane's thoughts with a question. "So, robots gone wild?"

Zane smiled around his last bite, swallowing before answering her. "All the AIs have that subroutine I found and it's affecting their decision matrices."

"What exactly does it do?"

Zane winced, not liking the imprecision of his answer. "There isn't exactly an exactly." Both Blake and Jo raised eyebrows at that. Zane swiveled his chair, picking up his datapad as he rotated by the data-bank terminal. Placing his feet on the floor, he halted facing Jo and the cart once more.

"Look" She took the pad. Zane leaned in close, pointing at various portions of the screen. "It's some kind of emotion generating program. Only most of our AIs aren't built for emotions, so they go nuts trying to comply." Andy sighed loudly, causing Jo's eyes to widen. Seeing her blush, Zane instantly understood the exact nature of Andy's malfunction. Not that Zane blamed the robot, or would describe having the hots for Jo Lupo as a 'malfunction'. He shared an amused look with Blake before continuing. "The code's encrypted. I'd need the original in order to purge the AI systems but we still don't know where it came from."

Jo may not have his knowledge of computers, but Zane could see her studying the datapad with a look he recognized from many interrogations. She had a lead. After a moment, she pointed to the upper right portion of the display. "Is this the change-log?" Zane nodded, certain that he heard her mutter. "6:57 this morning." She handed the datapad back. "I think I know where the code came from." She popped the last bite of hamburger in her mouth. "Finish your fries. We've got to go."

Blake chose to stay at GD to manage the crisis, leaving Jo, Zane and Deputy Andy alone for a very awkward ride to the Carter homestead. Despite Andy's best efforts, Jo spent most of the ride silently ignoring his overtures. Zane felt the robot's pain. He had after all spent the better part of two years going through the same thing. On the other hand, watching Jo squirm while being hit on by a robot was freaking hilarious.

Jo stormed into the AI house, not even waiting for the door to shut before she began interrogating the ceiling. "SARAH, what did you do?"

"I'm sorry, Chief Lupo. What are you referring to?"

Jo crossed her arms, now directing the full Enforcer attitude at their surroundings. Having not seen or dealt with Jo's badass alter-ego in a while, Zane felt a hot thrill at watching her in action. "SARAH, every AI in Eureka is malfunctioning because of a subroutine that I'm positive originated with you. What I want to know is why?"

"SARAH, if you are also malfunctioning, then you should allow Doctor Donovan to examine you. He was able to verify that my own processors were affected." Andy chimed in helpfully.

Zane's eyes widened at SARAH's response. "Andy, you are NOT malfunctioning! Jo, you know how difficult it is to be alone. I merely wished to correct my situation." Zane looked at Jo to find her staring at the floor. He had always assumed Lupo's pointed lack of interest in romance to be a symptom of her being a frigid bitch. Zane frowned. Which could not be accurate as recent events clearly called into question that descriptor. Judging by the change in Jo's body language at SARAH's statement, her lack of romantic prospects was neither a choice nor a desired outcome. Well, if Zane had anything to say about it, this problem was resolved for the foreseeable future. SARAH's next words brought Zane out of his thoughts. "Andy, I quite like your new skin and enjoy conversing with you."

"As I do you, SARAH." Andy tilted his head, deep in computation. "You did this for me?"

"Yes, you were unable to return my feelings so I modified the emo-bot's subroutine and uploaded it to the GD data-bank in hopes that you would receive it." The house paused. "It appears that I did not fully comprehend the consequences of my actions."

Jo sighed. "SARAH, you really need to help Zane fix this."

"Of course. I am sorry for the trouble that I have caused." Before Zane could begin asking exactly how SARAH had managed this trick, Jo's goddamn phone rang again. As she conversed, Zane made a mental note to put the device in a freezer or something during their upcoming dinner date.

Jo hung up her phone, appearing upset. She turned to Zane with wide eyes. "Tiny's escaped."

* * *

Jo felt a pang as Zane winced at her proclamation. Unfortunately, she had even more bad news to relay. She continued with the details that Alison had provided. "Tiny's out in the woods near where Carter, Fargo and Kevin are. Alison is pretty upset." Jo wanted to apologize or do something to make the disappointment in his eyes go away.

Zane waved her off. "Yeah. Go. I got this." He apparently realized as she did that catching Tiny in the woods was not a problem to be solved by dinnertime. Jo sighed before ordering SARAH to open the door. Sometimes, living in Eureka really sucked.

She hadn't made it to the stairs when Zane called out. "Wait!" He popped into the bunker entryway with purpose in his eyes.

"I have to-" He held up a hand, cutting her off.

"Two quick things. One, Tiny's right shoulder, in front. The power array has several command nodes there. You fry that; she'll be down for the count."

Jo smiled up at him, not for a second doubting his advice. "And?"

For a moment, she thought Zane wasn't going to do anything. He just gave her this little half-grin she'd never seen before. Then he struck. Hands were pulling her forward before Jo even realized what he was up to. As they wrapped around her, his lips crashed down over her own. Before Jo even thought about it, she responded in kind. Her hands were in his hair and under his t-shirt even as Zane's mouth trailed from her own to nibble on her neck.

Unable to help herself, Jo moaned. At the sound, Zane's hands were suddenly under her jacket. His lips returned to her own, ever more insistent. Without hesitation she opened her mouth, allowing their tongues to intertwine. They staggered together, impacting the concrete wall of the bunker.

Somehow, Zane found the will to end the kiss, pulling back. His hands gentled, now running up and down her sides as he gazed down at her. Under her hands, she felt the rumble of his voice as the words formed. "Been wanting to do that a while."

Jo replied, still breathless. "Me, too." Zane's face broke into a wide grin, almost exactly matching the one he got when making a breakthrough in a problem. He seemed to struggle a moment before stepping back.

As his hands slid out from under her jacket, Jo felt suddenly cold. She wondered if he felt the same. Jo shook her head, taking a step back towards the stairs. "I have to-"

"Yeah." Jo stared at him a moment more before gathering her wits enough to climb up the stairs. As she reached the top, Jo glanced back to find Zane staring after her with an unreadable expression on his face. He grinned up at her before ducking back into the bunker.

Jo had no idea how she made it to her car, much less GD's security entrance. A couple of the guys on her security teams gave her funny looks as she suited up. But, even with the seriousness of the situation, Jo knew that she couldn't completely erase the grin from her face. By the time her team loaded up in their van, she had sufficiently suppressed her excitement to pass it off as the thrill of the hunt which had the benefit of being true, from a certain point of view anyway.

As they arrived at the roadblock, Jo and her men poured out of their vehicle. Off to the side facing the woods, Alison waited staring into the distance. Without looking away as Jo approached, she spoke. "I've called Carter a dozen times." Alison turned, worry evident on her features. "He's not answering."

"You know Carter. He probably confiscated everyone's toys and turned them off." Jo paused, attempting to lighten the mood. "Hell, Fargo probably brought half-a-dozen electronic devices and offended Carter's delicate 'back to nature' sensibilities." Unfortunately, it didn't work.

If anything her friend's expression became even more pained. Alison's shoulders drooped. "Jo, if anything happened to Kevin or-"

"It won't. Carter will make sure nothing happens to Kevin." Jo paused, realizing Alison was not just worried about her son. She added. "And Carter can take one tiny, Titan robot." Alison raised an eyebrow at that proclamation, causing Jo to concede. "Assuming he doesn't do anything too Carter-like." She put as much certainty as she could in her voice. "Besides, Zane gave me some tips on how to take Tiny down. This will be over in no time."

Alison smiled just slightly. "Excellent. I could use some good news right now."

Jo had no idea why she blurted out what she did next. "Zane kissed me." Alison raised an eyebrow, pointedly unsurprised. Not able to meet her friend's eyes, Jo double-checked the status of her pulse rifle. Because of that she was taken off-guard when Alison asked the sixty-four million dollar question.

"Is that good news?" Jo abruptly looked up, meeting her friend's eyes. She didn't smile exactly at Alison but Jo could see the moment the other woman had her answer. "Well, it's about time." Although flustered once more by Zane's actions, Jo consoled herself that at least she'd managed to distract Alison for a short time.

Having reassured what she could, Jo took note of her team's readiness before excusing herself. "Looks like we're ready." Jo jerked her head in the direction of the surveillance trailer Alison had brought with her. "Let us know when we get close."

With that, Jo and her team dove into the hunt. A futile, miserable, cold hunt which lead them nowhere. Three hours into traipsing through the woods, Jo heartily wished for Zane, a warm dinner and multiple repeats of that kiss. At some point it had started raining, water dripping down through the canopy. She was going to kill SARAH.

* * *

Zane was going to kill SARAH. Modifying the emo-bot code had been a genius move but uploading an encrypted version to GD's data-bank. Ugh. It had taken three miserable, tedious hours to unsnarl that tangle of mixed up code, communicating with the trouble-shooting team back at GD all the while. It didn't help that Andy and SARAH had spent the entire time flirting…in hexadecimal.

Zane had previously assumed that he would possess few prejudices about inter-robo-relations. However in this instance, he really did not need to be hearing some of the things that he had been party to these last three hours. Listening to the two robots made it even harder to pay attention to untangling this code and not kissing Jo. He grinned, losing his focus a moment as he remembered the moment Jo responded to him. It had been like standing next to a star going nova: an explosive, hot, universe-changing experience.

Zane took a deep breath, grinding his teeth as SARAH and Andy exchanged increasingly heated endearments. You'd think with all the advanced programming that went into these two, someone would have covered a minor little anti-PDA subroutine. Zane snickered to himself as he wrapped up the code modifications. Yeah, like it ever occurred to anyone that their precious innocent bots would need that one.

Finally. He checked over the changes one more time. Thankfully, the hard-wired AIs just needed the main data-bank updated and their own auto-update subroutines would take care of the rest. But isolated systems like Tiny or Deputy Andy would have to be done one at a time. Let's get the easy part out of the way. Zane hit the upload command, nodding when the GD data-bank acknowledged receipt. Now for the hard part. Zane glanced up at Andy, standing in the middle of the living room with a rapturous look on his face. Damnit, he had gotten out of practice being the bad guy.

"Come on, Andy." Zane slid open the data-closet. "It's your turn. Plug in.."

Andy blinked at him. "You wish to delete my feelings for SARAH."

Zane fidgeted under that open stare. "Not really. But, the powers that be don't usually defer to my judgment."

"I have yet to see you buckle under the whims of authority Doctor Donovan."

The robot had a point. While he had been walking the straight-and-narrow lately, Zane didn't think that the SARAH and Andy love connection posed any danger to the town. Besides- "I could always use a friend in law enforcement." Andy smiled at Zane's muttering. Zane's fingers closed out the upload application on his datapad before he thought too much about it. "Alright, but-"

Fargo's voice echoed through the house. "Dr. Blake, we're being chased by Tiny." Zane had forgotten that SARAH had left the security comm channel open.

"Fargo, where are you?" As Fargo responded to Dr. Blake's panicked inquiry, Zane heard the unmistakable sound of a car accelerating.

"We're headed down the mountain." Zane heard the rumble of a car engine over his surprise at the relatively calm tone of voice from GD's notoriously cowardly Director. There was the screeching of tires and what sounded like snapping twigs…really big twigs.

Carter's voice jumped in. "Tiny's right behind us."

"Carter, is Kevin-"

"I'm here, mom. I'm good." Zane felt himself relax with relief as Dr. Blake recovered enough to direct them down to the roadblock. By the time Jo jumped in the conversation, Zane had made his way into the living area. When Carter and the rest abandoned their vehicle, he sat with the datapad useless in his hands.

Zane listened to the screeching of metal and the yells of the security team over the comm. He knew Jo could kick ass and take names, but still his hands clenched at the stress in her voice as she barked orders first to close in and then to not fire. Apparently, both Blakes and Carter were caught in some kind of standoff with the robot. As he listened, Zane remembered how pissed he had always gotten when Jo locked him up for no reason. Man, he got it now. If someone had given him a taser and Jo at that moment, Zane knew exactly what he'd do and if she hated him later, well, at least she was unhurt enough to do so. He muttered to himself. "Lock 'em up."

"Actually, Doctor Donovan, I am afraid that they frown on that." SARAH paused a moment. "I have also found that it does not work."

"Really? You tried to lock up the Carters?"

"Yes, Mayor Deacon, Dr. Stark, Dr. Blake and then-Dr. Fargo as well." SARAH made a slight whirring sound. If Zane didn't know better, it almost sounded like a sigh. "I was not myself that day."

Must have been before his time. Zane got the distinct impression SARAH didn't want to talk about it. Which was a nice bit of subtlety for an AI. Zane sighed. Maybe Fargo was scientist enough to run GD. On top of rebellious Dr. Blake and hot-for-bad-boys Jo, Zane wondered how he missed the memo that everyone in Eureka was secretly awesome.

Both he and Andy breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Jo issue the all clear. Once Tiny had her robot friend, she'd climbed into the trailer on her own. Getting her back to GD would therefore be straightforward. However, judging from the lengths she had been willing to go in order to protect her emo-bot, uploading the corrected subroutine by hand would not be nearly as easy. Zane found himself grateful that he wouldn't be at GD for that fix. Zane winced. Parrish was going to kill him for that alone. He idly hoped the Doctor Martin plan went well or Zane knew that he'd be dodging exploding lab equipment for the next week or so.

Now that the excitement was out of the way, SARAH and Andy resumed their way-overly affectionate conversation. In deciding between eavesdropping on newly-emotional robots or distracting himself thinking about Jo, Zane made the obvious choice. Recalling what was the best decision Zane had made in two years, prompted a bit of a brainstorm.

Zane had seen the look on Jo's face when she got the call about Tiny. Kiss or no kiss, she thought their dinner date was off. Personally, he didn't care for the fact that her disappointed expression exactly matched the one that she'd made when SARAH called her out for being lonely. Remembering his own vow to render such feelings null and void, Zane made a decision. If Jo thought she was getting out of dinner tonight, she was in for a surprise. Now that he'd actually had Jo Lupo in his arms, there was no way Zane was waiting any longer than he absolutely must to repeat the experience.

A new, much more fun problem at hand, Zane sprung into action. "Hey SARAH, can you call Café Diem?" Zane frowned for a moment, AI Vincent would have to be manually updated. He definitely did not want to order until they had confirmation he was speaking to real, live Vincent. "And we need to speak to the real Vincent."

Andy piped up. "I believe I can help. Absent visual confirmation, AIs have differing sensory capabilities. If you place your order over the telephone on a sound frequency outside of human hearing, only AI Vincent will hear it. If we get a response on those frequencies, then we can ask to speak to real Vincent."

Hmmm….It really was a good idea to have friends in law enforcement. Now to arrange some privacy for all parties. He noticed the data closet, still open. "Hey Andy, you and SARAH want some alone time?"

* * *

Jo traversed the stairs down to the Carter house, more than a little put out by her running around the woods for the last several hours. Aside from their delay in apprehending Tiny, she'd missed her date with Zane. Damnit. While Jo did not doubt that Zane would make it up to her, after that kiss she'd been really hoping to repeat the experience. Knowing that Carter wouldn't be home for a while, she did not bother to suppress her disappointment. Stupid Eureka with its wacky robot malfunctions. Jo swore to herself that SARAH was going to be doing some serious penance to make up for this stunt.

SARAH, although silent, acknowledged her presence by opening the door without prompting. Jo figured that she probably felt terrible for causing all of this. Good, Jo thought to herself. As she crossed the threshold, the smell of melting cheese and spices hit her. "SARAH?" Maybe the house felt guilty enough to order delivery.

Instead of SARAH answering, Zane appeared from behind the stairs. "Great, you're here. Come on. I'm starving."

"Zane? What are you doing here?"

He frowned, speaking slowly. "You said you wanted dinner. I got dinner." He glanced over Jo's shoulder. "Where's Carter?"

She answered without thinking. "I didn't invite Carter to dinner." At her answer, Zane grinned from across the room. Jo felt like a weight had been lifted. Apparently, she wasn't the only one eager for a repeat experience. Jo dropped her gear in a pile by the door before explaining as she walked over to him. "He's driving Alison and Kevin home. He'll be a while."

Comprehension dawning, Zane managed to look both pleased with himself and, uncharacteristically nervous. "Ah." He nodded, a feather-light touch at the small of her back nudging her into the dining area. When Jo got her first look at what waited for her, she sucked in a breath. Pizza and paper plates were laid out on the table, nothing special really. What stunned her was the ceiling which showed a kaleidoscope of stars all swirling just slightly in a counterclockwise direction. Zane's voice in her ear pulled her out of her reverie. "Let's eat."

As Jo took her seat, she noted that the pizza was pineapple and jalapeño, one of her favorites. It was weird but somehow, the two years they had spent knowing the enemy (each other) made little things like ordering food for each other relatively effortless. Not a bad way to start a relationship. . Jo's eyes widened as Zane dished up their plates. She was in a relationship with Zane Donovan. Holy Crap.

Zane froze in the middle of handing Jo her plate, seeing her panicked expression. He frowned but Jo had just enough presence of mind to cut off any jackass remark he might make. "We're dating." Apparently, this was her night for blurting out wildly stupid statements.

Zane apparently deciding to not give her any help at all merely replied. "Yeah."

She shook her head. "It just hit me that we're dating." Judging from his expression, he still didn't get it.

Zane slid his own plate into position with a tad more force than necessary. "What did you think we were doing?"

"Dating." Jo shrugged at his now incredulous look. "I'm being ridiculous, I know. This whole thing just hit me. That this-" She took a shaky breath. "That we are, um, working."

At that he perked up. "If you eat your pizza, we could work on it some more Lupo." With that, he took a large bite of pizza smearing sauce around his mouth.

Jo started to point it out only to catch his eye. His look said, 'Relax'. It said 'We can do this'. It said 'Trust me'. For a semi-reformed jackass, he could be really eloquent when he didn't open his mouth. Somehow, in the face of that certainty which was neither smug nor gloating, Jo's momentary panic subsided. In its place, Jo found herself suddenly not caring about traipsing through cold wet forests for runaway robots. This was Eureka; they were Eureka. Post-failed experiment dinner dates were about as appropriate for them as it got. Jo's stomach growled, pulling her out of her thoughts.

They ate for several minutes in a silence that was neither awkward nor oppressive. The pizza soon disappeared, leaving only greasy plates. At some point, Zane had cleaned his face. Jo took a sip of her soda, wondering who would be the one to bring up that kiss. Ordinarily, the obvious choice would be Zane but he'd been weirdly hesitant when it came to moving them forward. Not too hesitant, of course. Jo suppressed a smile, recalling how he'd managed to pull off a sneak-attack first kiss.

A sudden odd thought materialized. SARAH had yet to welcome Jo home. The AI was typically quite effusive when her or Carter returned from mortal danger. "What's up with SARAH?"

"She's kinda busy." Zane jerked his head in the direction of the data-closet off the kitchen. "Andy and her needed some privacy."

Unsuccessful at suppressing her amusement, Jo attempted to admonish him. "You were supposed to delete the subroutine."

"I'm supposed to do a lot of things. Besides, SARAH went to a lot of trouble just to end up alone again." Jo stared at Zane. It appeared that she could add a well hidden romantic to his other clandestine attributes. Jo wondered why, aside from his intelligence, the man couldn't allow himself to possess one well-publicized positive attribute. It wasn't attachment to his bad-boy image. Jo had heard enough scientist locker-talk in the last two weeks to know that their relationship was steadily eating into his rebel reputation without outwardly affecting him in any way. Zane fidgeted slightly under her stare, continuing. "I had to get them out of earshot. If you know computer talk, it was getting racy."

Jo's thoughts shrieked to a halt at the idea of racy robot talk. She shuddered, recalling Andy's disturbing attempts to woo her. "Hey, if it means Andy doesn't spout any more love poetry at me, then I'm happy for the two of them."

Zane snickered, causing Jo to blush. "Poetry?"

No way would she give him even more ammunition to taunt her. Even if nowadays he managed be adorable instead of smug while doing it. "You don't want to know." Jo continued, quite adamant. "I am not a poetry girl."

Zane narrowed his eyes at her proclamation. "You know, my grandpa used to say that any girl is a poetry girl for the right line."

Jo smirked at the challenge in his eyes. It just figured that Zane would take her proclamation as a dare. Still, even he had his limits. "Really? That sounds like a theory Doctor Donovan. Care to test it?"

Not missing a beat, Zane gestured to her seated next to him. "Just Lupo therein contains, yet she baffles all my brains. All frustration was filled with you, seems that was error too, but my mind was downright held for compared to you, all else is a bore."* As he said the final line, Zane reached across the table and took her hand. Jo stared at him, her throat dry. That is what she got for taunting daring and unknown.

Jo cleared her throat, repeating her compliment from earlier in the day in a breathy voice. "Smooth, Donovan." Zane just smiled, his fingers brushing across the top of her hand. At the sound of the door opening, Jo attempted to pull back her hand. Zane however, held fast, smile never dropping.

Carter came around the stairs, taking in the sight of the dining room and the two of them. "Oh, sorry." Jo frowned him; the situation did not call for his sarcastic sorry voice. Jo heard his stomach rumble from across the room. He eyed the pizza box. "Do you mind?"

"Knock yourself out." Jo shot Zane an amused grin at his unwelcoming tone. She squeezed his hand. It was after all, technically, Carter's house.

As he loaded a paper plate with dinner, Carter made excuses to leave them alone. "I'll just go upstairs and call Alison."

"Didn't you just come from Blake's?"

Jo found his reaction to Zane's question plenty interesting. Maybe Carter was finally going to get off his ass and do something about the Alison situation. Carter answered in a defensive tone. "Not that it's any of your business but I mainly spoke to Kevin about some guy stuff." Carter paused, looking at Jo. "Not robot guy stuff. It really wasn't him."

Jo shrugged, filling her one word reply with as much amused exasperation as she could. "Robots."

Carter nodded. "Anyway, I'll see you later. Zane, I'm certain that you can see yourself out."

Jo rolled her eyes at Jack's attempt at being protective. Thankfully, Zane didn't take offense just nodding agreement (yeah right) as Carter went up the stairs. Not long after Carter disappeared from view, the hand holding her own slowly began to creep up her arm, fingers dancing along the skin of her forearm.

While Zane did apparently excel at leaving her breathless and distracted, Jo knew that Jack would never let her hear the end of it if he came downstairs in the morning to find that they'd been too busy on their date to clean up. So, before she and Zane had their conversation-"Zane?"

His face was the picture of innocence, even as he leaned in. "Yeah?" Jo took a moment to appreciate the scene before she broke the spell.

"Dishes."

At her statement, Zane blinked, frowning. "What?" Then, he seemed to get it, glancing at the table. Scowl in place but eyes twinkling he asked. "What's in it for me?"

"See that couch over there? Doesn't it look comfy?" Zane was out of his chair, sweeping the debris of their dinner up before Jo even finished speaking. As he tidied up, Jo smirked. Yeah, dating Zane had some distinct advantages. No panic needed.

* * *

Zane came to slowly. The weight across his chest shifted, finally pulling him into consciousness. Inwardly, he congratulated himself. The couch had permanently redefined the word 'comfy' in Zane Donovan's dictionary.

As detailed as his previous fantasies about Jo had been, none of them had prepared him for the smoking hot reality of having Jo Lupo in his arms for several hours. Surprisingly, they had actually managed to talk a bit in between make-out sessions. He'd been floored at her deep-seated love of ballet and enjoyed amusing her with his own appreciation for antique radios. It broke up the time and, even though Zane possessed no qualms with Jo's enthusiasm, he really, really did not want to mess this up. Slow and deliberate was the order of the day. He shifted slightly, grimacing. Slightly painful order.

Although they had fallen asleep sorta sitting up, somehow during the night he and Jo had shifted. Zane now laid out on the couch with Jo tucked next to him, her hair spilling across his chest. She did not appear to be awake yet but Zane wasn't sure. It would be just like Lupo to have some kind of Special Forces training in pretending-to-be-asleep.

His question was soon answered. Carter bounded down the stairs, exclaiming when he saw them. "Oh, you're kidding!" Jo shot up to a sitting position, either instantly awake or only just now showing it. Zane found that the latter possibility a great deal more interesting. He also noticed that Jo was blushing furiously, a response which prompted an odd sense of accomplishment on his part. Not too long ago, Zane hadn't even been certain that she was capable of blushing. She cleared her throat before turning to face the music.

"Morning Carter." With barely a glance at Zane, she was off to the kitchen calling over her shoulder. "I'll make coffee." Where she had been, Zane now felt a fading warmth. He waited a couple moments until the warmth completely died away and until he was certain that he wouldn't just grab her and drag her upstairs Carter or no Carter. Zane sighed before finally rising to follow Jo.

As he moved past the stairs, Carter stepped in front of him. The Sheriff whispered as Jo moved around in the kitchen. "I know she'll beat you senseless if you screw this up. But still" The Sheriff's voice was emphatic, but surprisingly not nearly as threatening as Zane expected. "Don't screw this up."

Looking past the Sheriff, Zane caught Jo's eye. Somehow, bleary-eyed and rumpled she was about 75% hotter than usual. Zane idly wondered if it was because she was objectively hotter than usual or only appeared so because he had been the one doing the rumpling. He replied without looking back at the Sheriff. "I won't."

Carter sighed. "Let's get coffee. I need coffee."

As they entered the kitchen, Jo handed them both mugs. Zane gave himself another check mark upon noticing that Carter only got the mug but he got the mug and a seriously distracting semi-grope performed just out of Carter's view. Jo seated herself on a stool with a taunting contented look in his direction. Zane opened his mouth to respond only to snap it back shut again. Escalating things with Jo while Carter was in the room was probably not a good idea. Zane narrowed his eyes at Jo, promising that later today he would get vengeance. Carter, either oblivious or pointedly choosing to be so, took a sip from his mug before grimacing. "What is this?"

Jo sniffed her own mug. "Hazelnut."

"Really?" Zane perked up at Jo's confirming nod. "Awesome." He took a long sip.

Carter accused. "You made his favorite?"

"Actually, I didn't." Jo's brow wrinkled. "It just came out like this. SARAH?"

SARAH responded. "Reciprocity is the basis of all friendship." Zane raised his mug to the ceiling.

"Please tell me that you haven't been hitting on my house." Jo snorted into her coffee, forcing a straight face at the Sheriff's glare. Zane didn't bother to hide a smirk as he replied.

"Nope." He took a sip of his coffee. "Maybe she just respects a man who knows his way around her code." Jo giggled, not even bothering to hide it this time. Carter huffed a moment until they heard a whoosh.

The data-bank closet off the kitchen opened. Deputy Andy stepped out, straightening his uniform. Seeing the three of them in the kitchen, he froze for a moment before recovering. "Morning Sheriff. I'll see you at the office. Dr. Donovan. Chief Lupo. Good Day." With that he walked out. After a moment, they all heard the front door clang open and shut.

Carter's mug hit the counter with a thunk. "What? No, um. How?"

"Sheriff, do you not approve of my relationship with Deputy Andy?" SARAH's benignly worded query caused Jo to start gesturing frantically.

Zane sipped his coffee, trying not to snicker. While after last night, Zane had no doubts about the existence of Josephina Lupo's romantic side, even he knew it was a bad idea to piss off the person responsible for your hot water and most of your cooking. Sitting down on the stool next to Jo, he dropped a hand around her waist and sat back to enjoy the show.

**THE END (for now)**

* * *

Coming soon...

_"Look, I know you can usually talk you're way out of trouble-"_

_"Not what I meant." Zane's mind struggled to unscramble itself. "If Jo's pissed at me, I always know it. Hell, if she's pissed at anything, I always know it because let's face it, I've got incentive."_

_"Is that what the kids call it nowadays?"_

_Zane glared at Carter before continuing._

_

* * *

*_While having Zane recite poetry may not be obviously in character, I wanted to compare Jo's reaction to it with her reaction to Andy's less able attempt. Additionally, I attempted to make the selection of poem at least in character. I think one could expect Zane Donovan to be familiar with physics poetry, especially since quite a few well-known physics poems are also on the racy side. The poem he recites consists of the highly modified first few lines of Douglas Woolley's "Ode to Hydrogen" (a non-racy one)_._


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes:** See Chapter One

**Rating:** T

**Notes:** I apologize for the delay between chapters but holidays+work^2=no-time. Those of you who reviewed the story in the last month or so, thank you very much for your encouraging words! And just to clarify, I do plan on finishing this. I've got portions of the next two chapters written and I've got a kick-ass idea for an epilogue. It will happen but the updates may be a ways apart. The chapters have gotten longer, the story is veering more significantly from what happened on the show and, well, work's work. For this chapter specifically, my version of the episode ended up being very light on the action. If it didn't already have a title/episode name, I would have called this chapter "A Lot Of Important Conversations".

* * *

**Chapter Six – Stoned**

Jo entered the GD infirmary feeling better than she had in a long while. For the past two weeks, she had been in a Zane-induced haze. There was something to be said for dating a guy who knew just as many camera blind spots at GD as she did.

While Jo had always known that Zane was a tactile person, recent experience offered numerous bits of confirmation to that personality quirk. Whether it was a hand at the small of her back while they walked, an arm around her chair as they ate or standing just a tad too close during a presentation, Zane always managed to be in her space whether in contact or not. It was weird; Jo always figured being around a person this much, being surrounded by them constantly would be claustrophobic. Somehow, the opposite was true.

Nevertheless, once again Zane Donovan was demonstrated odd restraint. Even while pushing his luck by snatching her to make out in supply closets, Zane had always put a stop to things when they got too heavy. Which was starting to piss Jo off. Why is it that the only time the man showed a modicum of self-control was exactly when she did not want him to?

After two years of sexual frustration and two weeks of cold showers, Jo had had enough. When Jo had woken up this morning, she had made a decision. Tonight, even if she had to handcuff him to a bed with 'great physical emphasis'. Resolved, she approached Alison's desk with a smile on her face.

Her friend looked up from her monitor, pausing when she caught Jo's expression. "I take it things are going well with Zane."

Jo's grin widened. "Yeah, I was just heading down to Section Three." She handed Alison the files on her security personnel's yearly physicals.

As she took the files, Alison's eyes brightened with good-natured teasing. "Tell him hi for me."

Alison had been enjoying herself at Jo's expense ever since her confession in the woods. Thanks to Carter's utter inability to keep his mouth shut, Jo finally had the means to do something about it. "So, are you excited for tonight? Carter told me about your date."

Alison's eyes widened. She cleared her throat before responding. "It's dinner."

Jo nodded. "Of course."

Alison narrowed her eyes. "Don't start. It's bad enough when Carter does that." She inquired again, voice hesitant. "He really called it a date?"

"A couple of times." More like a million. Carter had been so giddy at breakfast, even SARAH was rolling her synthetic eyes by the time he left for work.

"Oh." Alison fiddled with her datapad a moment causing Jo to frown.

"Is that a bad thing?" Jo did not want to live with a Carter who'd struck out with Alison yet again; he'd be insufferably depressing. Not to mention, as much as Jo liked Alison, she wouldn't appreciate her friend getting his hopes up for the millionth time. Jo knew it wasn't entirely her business but Alison had meddled with her and Zane so she did kind of have this coming. "Alison?"

"He's my best friend, Jo." It was weird hearing Alison quite so desperate sounding. "I don't want to lose-" She stopped, taking a breath before continuing.

Jo put a hand on Alison's arm. "You have to know that he's been wanting to do this a while."

Alison nodded, not looking at Jo. "Since Founder's Day."

"Before that."

Alison's head shot up at that, eyes narrowed. "How long before?"

Carter would kill her. Jo knew that as much as she knew Alison deserved to know anyway. She bit her lip, selecting her next words carefully. "A while back you made sure that I saw something worth taking a risk for. Let's just say that I'm repaying the favor."

Alison's whole face relaxed. Jo could practically feel the happiness emanating from her. She gave Alison's arm one more pat before moving to leave. "I'll tell Zane that you said hi."

Jo exited the infirmary grinning. Between her own new relationship and Carter's plans for tonight, it looks like they were both 'depressing losers' no more. Her phone rang, breaking her stride.

The caller id was a surprise but what else could you expect from a Carter. "Zoe! Hi, what's up?" Jo had been talking less to the younger Carter lately, since she and Zane started dating. While intellectually she knew that eventually Zoe would find out, Jo wanted to put it off as long as possible. Zoe Carter had every reason to hate Zane after what happened his first week in town. Zoe always changed the subject whenever Jo had ranted about Zane's antics. So while they'd never talked about it exactly, Jo figured it was a painful subject for her little sister in all but name.

Zoe's greeting caused her chest to constrict. "Hey Jo! Guess what? I'm in town for the weekend!"

Jo frowned, inwardly panicking. "Something wrong?"

"Nah. Just needed a break." Zoe's voice changed from nonchalant to wheedling. "You got time to hang out? We could hit the spa this afternoon. Get in some long overdue girl time."

Jo took a deep breath, idly examining her nails. She really could use a manicure and the relaxation. Dating Zane Donovan was many things but 'relaxing' was not one of them. Unfortunately, girl-time and therefore girl-talk with the younger Carter would probably lead to trouble. Jo thought a moment. If Jo have a spa day in without getting into a discussion of her love-life, this might work.

Trying to keep her voice level, Jo answered. "Sure. Actually, I had planned to check out the progress on my house after my lunch meeting. How about I meet you and your Dad at the site and then, we hit the spa?"

"Awesome. See ya then!" With that Zoe hung up, leaving Jo standing in the middle of a hallway in Section Three and trying not to freak out.

* * *

Zane was honest-to-freaking-God whistling while he worked. But, hey, what's the thrill of having your own lab if you couldn't enjoy yourself every now and again? Like usual, he'd had lunch delivered for himself and Jo. It sat out, only thing missing was his girl. Zane smiled.

A part of him couldn't believe this was happening, another part couldn't believe it was going so well. It's not that they agreed on everything, quite the opposite. Although arguing with Jo while dating her was far superior to doing so while locked in a cell somewhere. It was strange how two years of trying to push Jo's buttons in a bad way made him actually competent at pushing Jo's buttons in an awesome way. Zane's mood, if anything further improved with that thought.

He finished up his calibrations, hoping to get to a stop point before Jo arrived and any chance of work ended for the next hour or so. Not only did he finish in plenty of time, but Zane managed to get a jump start on that afternoon's simulations. It wasn't until he dragged himself away from a computer monitor for a moment that he questioned his productivity. Checking the clock, Zane frowned. Jo was late. Jo was never late, and certainly not for their standing lunch date.

Zane was just pulling out his phone to call Fargo when she walked in his lab. He took one look at Jo's face and pocketed his phone. Zane risked a low-key greeting. "Hey."

Jo blinked and seemed to shake herself a little before responding. "Hey." She looked over at their food. "I'm starved." Jo walked over and sat down like she didn't appear ten seconds from shooting something and bursting into tears. What the hell?

Zane hesitantly joined her at the lab table, sitting down in front of his pad thai. They ate in silence leaving Zane thinking furiously. He went over their date last night, their greeting that morning when she'd come into work. He remembered the look in her eyes when she'd pulled him into an abandoned lab off the Rotunda for the best morning pick-me-up he'd ever received with his clothes still on. He smirked into his noodles. Well, clothes mostly on. Still, Jo had been more than fine. What changed in the last three hours?

Zane shot Jo a sideways glance only to find her staring at her plate. Her food was relatively untouched, yet another distressing anomaly. Jo may eat healthy but she does usually eat well. Not bothering to take his eyes off Jo, Zane frowned in thought.

One good thing about Jo, when she was pissed at you then you knew it. It certainly made it easier to trouble-shoot their relationship. This silent treatment, Zane hadn't seen, not since they started dating anyway. His frown deepened. Actually, this silent treatment noticeably different from her stand-offish pre-Founder's Day attitude. After talking himself out of any chance this was his fault, Zane finally gathered the courage to deal with his girlfriend. "So, I was thinking."

Jo graced him with a small smile. "You do that." Her morose expression returned in a flash. Damnit, what the hell was the matter?

"Tonight, I pick up dinner and come over-"

"No!" Jo interrupted eyes wide in terror. Holy crap, maybe he was in trouble.

"Jo, what-"

She jumped in again, cutting him off. "I think we should go over to your place. For a change. And, um, play Yahtzee." Zane's eyebrows rose. On one hand, he'd been fantasizing about talking Jo into playing Strip Yahtzee since Founder's Day. On the other, even a non-super-genius could see that she was not thinking clearly right now.

Regarding Jo and his personal space, Zane had made a few promises to himself. Therefore, this step warranted further confirmation. "You want to play Yahtzee? At my place?"

"Yep." Jo nodded, appearing excited about something for the first time since entering his lab. That said enthusiasm possessed a little maniac edge did not reassure Zane.

"None of our dates have been at my place."

Jo frowned at him, crossing her arms over her chest. Something in Zane relaxed, skeptical and prickly Jo he knew how to deal with. "Yeah, why is that?" She wrinkled her nose. "It's not some kind of disaster area, is it?" Zane shook his head. "Well, what's wrong with going to your place?"

"I was sorta saving it."

"For what?" Zane looked at her, pointedly. He saw the second she got it. Whatever reaction he expected, it was not the one he got. Jo smiled at the realization. Zane knew that smile; it was pleased and happy and always made him a little breathless. Putting that smile on Jo Lupo's face meant Zane gave himself a gold star for the day.

Still looking pretty satisfied, Jo closed the distance between them, arms wrapping around his waist. She looked up at him, playing with the hem of his t-shirt as she spoke. "I definitely think we should play Yahtzee at your place tonight."

Zane swallowed, even as he embraced her in return. "You don't have to-"

"I want." She pressed against him. "And you want. So," Jo leaned upwards. "Let's want together." As their lips met, Zane thought to himself. Best. Girlfriend. Ever.

* * *

Jo let herself relax and breathe in the steam. After the drama that was her current home construction, this spa day was more needed than ever. Maybe it was a good thing Zoe had decided to visit. Eyes closed, Jo tried to work through how she was going to tell Zoe that she was dating the guy who once tried to blow her and her friends up.

Zoe's voice pulled Jo out of her thoughts. "This is nice. Us girls, hanging out."

Jo gulped. The girl-talk was about to commence. "Yeah." She slumped a little, telling herself to soldier up. Jo opened her eyes, glancing at the other table where Zoe lay, hands raised and encased in their exfoliating mittens. "This was a good idea Zoe. I needed this."

Zoe tilted her head, eyes wide. "I know. Can you believe the drama at the site?" Seeing Jo's expression, she waved a dismissive mitten. "Not that it's a big deal. Prehistoric skeleton or no, your house will be finished in no time." Zoe floundered for a moment, clearly steeling herself for something. "So how about we gossip a bit? To distract you. "

Jo let out a breath in relief. Zoe had something on her mind. Okay, that was good. As long as they were talking about Zoe, then they were not talking about Jo and Zane. "What's up?" Jo raised an eyebrow. "You want to talk about what happened with you and Lucas?"

Zoe wrinkled her nose, body language shifting from relaxed to an affected casualness. "Lucas? So done. Very done."

Now, Jo frowned. "Okay. Then, what do you want to-"

Zoe shifted on her table. "Okay, me and Lucas." She sighed. "Didn't last long after we left Eureka." Zoe waved a hand to stop Jo from interrupting. "It sucked for a while. But then, I get this physics tutor, super hot and fun. It's great. Better than great. But he's not really, um, a conventional option and I just-I'm not really sure-"

"Go for it." The words were out of Jo's mouth before she realized that she intended to speak. Zoe froze at Jo's declaration. After blinking a couple of times, she replied.

"What happened to 'assess and verify'?"

Jo sat up, realizing Zoe didn't need help leaping without looking. She was after all, a Carter. "Still do that. But-" Jo nibbled her lower lip. "I recently was advised that a little risk could be a good thing."

Zoe grinned. "Really? Maybe you should be dishing next?"

Jo blinked, shaking her head. "No dishing for me." This, whatever it was, with Zane was too new. Jo didn't want to deal with Zoe's reaction until she knew it would work out. Yeah, it had nothing to do with her being a coward at all.

Although she looked skeptical, Zoe didn't press Jo for more. Instead, she asked again. "So you think I should go for it?"

"You're sure that he likes you?" Although Zoe had brushed it off, it was clear that whatever had occurred between her and Lucas had not been easy to deal with. That would leave anyone, even a Carter, a bit insecure.

Zoe nodded. "He called me out of the blue to tutor me. And keeps calling back just to 'make sure it's all working out'. He's smart but not the studious type so, why else would he be calling?"

Jo frowned a moment. She didn't want to rain on Zoe's first-college-crush parade but, from what Jo remembered, guys at that age were kinda dumbasses. She thought of a certain physicist. Okay, guys at any age. "Maybe you should wait and see."

"You don't think he likes me?" Zoe sounded so defeated that, gloves and all, Jo reached out and took her hand.

"He'd be crazy not to but Zoe, you need to do this because you like the guy not because you want to put Lucas behind you." At Zoe's mulish expression, Jo put more emphasis on her next words. "Not that I'm asking about that. If you really do like this physics tutor, then there's nothing wrong with double-checking."

After a moment's thought, Zoe frowned. "You said you took a risk."

Jo dropped her hand. She thought a moment, trying to decide how much to share. One way or another, it was time to face the music. "I had evidence first. That he was worth it."

At that Zoe nodded, her confidence returned. "I can do evidence." She gave Jo an assessing look. "You know, we're going to have a talk tonight, right?"

Jo adjusted her exfoliating mittens before replying. "Actually, I'm a little busy tonight."

"Working late busy or hot date busy?" Jo failed to suppress a smile, causing Zoe to return the gesture. "Come on! You have to tell me something!"

"Yahtzee." Zoe wrinkled her nose in confusion. "He plays Yahtzee. We're, um, playing tonight. At his place."

Zoe's expression melted. "I thought you didn't play since your mom died." Jo hadn't. Family game night had passed on with her mother. Thinking back to Zane right before he entered the ELF chamber on Founder's Day, Jo had a sudden and inexplicable urge to change that. She may have panicked when making the date but, considering how Zane looked when she asked again, Jo knew it was the right decision. Whatever Zoe saw in Jo's expression, she sighed. "Wow." She took Jo's hand, squeezing it. "Go get 'em tiger."

Uncomfortable even tangentially talking about Zane with Zoe, Jo changed the subject. "About your maybe-guy. Let him know you're interested subtly but, Zoe, don't just go after somebody because you and Lucas didn't work out."

Zoe smiled. "Okay." She bit her lip before continuing with a Carter twinkle in her eye. "So, what are you wearing for your date with mystery guy?"

Jo relaxed just slightly. Maybe this wasn't such a big deal after all. "I could use some help."

"Good, that gives me a chance to make you talk."

Jo smirked. Yeah right. Still, the last thing she needed was more stress before going over to Zane's tonight. "How about this? I'll bring him over to Henry's barbecue tomorrow. But only, if you let me have one more night of mystery."

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Just one?"

Jo took a breath, resolved herself to go through with this. "Just one."

Zoe smiled widely. "Awesome. By the time I'm done with you, mystery guy isn't going to know what hit him."

* * *

"Ow!" Zane reached out and grabbed his assailant's elbow before she could fall backwards. He'd been in such a good mood this morning. But between Jo's freakout and Fargo demanding to speak to him, he just wasn't in the mood to deal with klutzy GD scientists today. Zane opened his mouth to growl out a reprimand only to stop short upon realizing who he'd run into. "Zoe." He frowned. "Aren't you on the wrong side of the country?"

Carter's girl rubbed her elbow, scowl fading at his greeting. "Zane! Hi! Oh, I'm just visiting." She now grinned widely. "Actually, I'm glad to see you. I was hoping to hang out while I'm in town."

Zane's frown deepened. "Kinda busy right now. Besides, last time we talked you seemed like you had the material down pat."

Zoe fidgeted a moment, staring at him intently. "Actually, the physics class wrapped up. I wanted to chat about Boston. Ask you about any tips for getting around?"

Distracted by his beeping phone, Zane answered without thinking. "I told Lucas all that stuff."

Zoe wilted a bit. "You've talked to Lucas lately?"

"Yeah." Shit. Zane belatedly remembered about what too. His mind provided a ready excuse. "He had some astronomy issues." While he was no expert on Zoe Carter, not like he was with Jo anyway, Zane did not like the disappointed look on her face. "If I don't have the time while you're in town, I'll call you later this week, okay?"

He moved to do a quick check of his pad, hoping Fargo hadn't sent yet another acerbically worded summons. Doing so, he almost missed the subtext in Zoe's next words. "Actually, I'd really prefer a face-to-face chat." Zane gave an idle nod before realizing something. Any other girl and he would have said that they were hitting on him.

Zane's head shot up, suddenly realizing that Zoe hadn't backed up after their collision. She remained far too close. He recognized the gleam in her eye. Holy fucking shit. Jo was going to kill him. He blinked, brain not registering her words as she continued talking. Carter was going to kill him more.

"Zane?" The younger Carter's head tilted, frowning. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yea-." Zane's mouth froze mid-word as he saw Sheriff Carter round a corner. The second they made eye contact Zane was certain of two things. One, that Carter knew about his daughter's crush. Two, that he was a dead man.

"Zane!" Carter popped from behind his daughter, grabbing his arm with only a quick comment to his daughter. "I have to borrow him for a meeting. You know how Fargo is." Carter gave a nonchalant shrug, speaking like he was not dragging Zane to his doom. "Zoe, why don't you go help Alison with Dr. Thurogood?"

"Sure Dad." Zoe turned to Zane, who could not bring himself out of his shock. "Bye, Zane!" With that, she practically skipped down the hall and around the corner towards the infirmary. Those precious seconds were critical to Zane regaining his equilibrium long enough to beg for his life.

"Help me!" Zane's pride stung a bit at how shaky his voice was. But, he had spent the better part of two years making damn sure that he never faced any version of a genuinely furious Sheriff Carter. Angry Jo was at least hot and a little bit fun. Angry Carter...negative on both counts.

The hand on his arm tightened before Carter released his grip. "Help you? I should punch you Mr. 'Hot Physics Tutor'!" Carter poked him in the chest on those last three words, hard.

"Carter, I swear that I wasn't-" Zane took a deep breath. "You've got to keep her away from me."

"No problem." Carter replied, face transforming into a grin after a moment. "Although, I would really like to be in the room when Jo finds out."

Zane's stomach plummeted. "Oh shit."

"Yes." Carter punctuated his affirmation with a maniac grin.

Zane shook his head. "No, too late. Jo has been really weird whenever Zoe is mentioned. And today, when she came to lunch, she looked like someone just ran over her favorite gun."

Carter's eyes widened. After a moment, he patted Zane on the shoulder. "Nice knowing you."

Zane frowned. "No."

"Look, I know you can usually talk you're way out of trouble-"

"Not what I meant." Zane's mind struggled to unscramble itself. "If Jo's pissed at me, I always know it. Hell, if she's pissed at anything, I always know it because let's face it, I've got incentive."

"Is that what the kids call it nowadays?"

Zane glared at Carter before continuing. "I don't think that Jo's pissed at me. She knows damn well what I want and, sorry Carter, it's not your daughter."

"Apology accepted." Carter replied magnanimously. Nodding a little, Carter continued. "She and Zoe, yeah. Jo doesn't like it when someone messes with people she cares about, even when it's her." Further comment was cut off by both of their phones beeping. Carter swore. "Fargo really did send me to find you."

As they began walking towards the Director's office, Zane felt that he still had some explaining to do. "She said I never apologized. In the infirmary after-" Instead of saying it, Zane gestured towards his chest. "So, I apologized. Said I owed Zoe a favor. Zoe wanted tutoring. I tutored. That's it, I swear."

Carter halted mid-step. "You apologized? Because Jo said to?"

Under Carter's scrutiny, Zane shuffled his feet. "She, um, implied my lack of apology was why she shot me down two years ago." He recovered enough to meet the Sheriff's eyes. "I wasn't gonna give her that excuse again." At the Sheriff's incredulous expression, Zane's temper flared. Before he knew it, Zane had a hand up and finger pointed at the Sheriff. "You spent a year and a half counting on the fact that I wouldn't escape with Jo in the room. You had to know how I felt."

Carter waved Zane's hand out of his face, scoffing. "Please. Blind people in Kazakhstan knew about your feelings for Jo." Carter paused a moment. "What we, um, I was not aware of were hers for you." Hands in his pockets, Carter looked everywhere but at Zane. "I would have done some things differently if I knew."

Zane's eyes narrowed, still remembering the totally un-Raged Sheriff taunting him about his 'usual date'. "What kind of different?"

"She likes ballet."

"I know that." Zane enjoyed a moment of triumph at Carter's shock. The Sheriff recovered quickly though.

"Do you know that her favorite ballet is Swan Lake? And that they do a yearly production in Portland that she hasn't been able to attend since moving to Eureka?"

At that Zane's eyebrows shot up. He took a step back, not exactly knowing what to do with the fact that Carter was actually helping him. Before resuming their journey, Zane decided to make use of available resources. "I need a favor. Keep Jo busy." At Carter's furious expression, he clarified. "I need to figure out a way to convince her that being with me isn't going to hurt her relationship with Zoe. I won't be able to do that with her around. She's-" Zane ran a hand through his hair. "She's kinda distracting."

Carter waited a moment before responding. "My request not to screw this up still applies." Zane nodded. "Then, yeah, I'll keep her busy." The Sheriff tilted his head in the direction of Fargo's office. "How about we see what's got our fearless leader so worked up?"

* * *

Jo arrived at Fargo's office only minutes after his request for an emergency meeting. Henry followed shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Fargo had no intention of sharing until the rest of the attendees arrived. As the minutes ticked away, Jo frowned. Carter had to help get the now turned-to-stone Dr. Thurogood into the infirmary. But, what was taking Zane so long?

She was just to go looking for them when Zane and Carter entered together. Their expressions made her breath hitch. Jack had been relatively sanguine regarding her relationship with Zane, especially considering the amount of trouble Zane had caused over the years. Judging by the looks on their faces, the truce had ended.

Jo sighed. She really hoped Zane hadn't done something to provoke Carter. She narrowed her eyes at her former boss. Or the other way around. It would be just like Carter to use his I'm-such-a-nonthreatening-not-super-genius-that-I-couldn't-possibly-be-smart-enough-to-do-what-I-just-did persona to taunt her boyfriend into a trap.

It wasn't until Zane spoke that Jo noticed that he had made no move to stand near her. Instead, he took a seat in one of Fargo's couches, datapad ready on his lap. His head tilted towards their boss. "Sonic protocols, Director? Curiouser and curiouser."

"Yes, well, it's justified considering how screwed we all are!" The Director continued at an increasing frantic pace. "Yesterday evening, GD was hacked." He put up hands to forestall their questions. "Not a quick look around either. No, whoever did this traipsed through our servers like our data security did not even exist." He nodded to Zane. "I'm not pointing fingers but we definitely need to improve our efforts in the future." Fargo took a deep breath before dropping his final bombshell. "I traced the hack myself. It led back to the Pentagon."

Everyone spoke at once. "What were they looking for?" "Have you called Mansfield?" "Bullshit! My firewalls were golden!"

Jo whistled, quieting the room and finally earning acknowledgement from Zane in the form of an amused smirk. She turned to Fargo absolutely certain that he already had a plan. "What do you want us to do, sir?" Seeing his reluctance to answer, Jo wondered exactly how dangerous-crazy said plan was but, thankfully, he did apparently have one.

After collecting himself a moment, Fargo managed to get out his idea. "We need to hack the Pentagon."

"Really?" Semi-reformed or not, Zane looked entirely too excited by the prospect. Jo raised an eyebrow at his unabashed glee and noted both Henry and Jack also giving him looks. He shrugged off their reactions. "Not everyday I get asked to commit felonies by my boss. Especially such fun ones."

"Fargo, if you traced this to the Pentagon, why not have Mansfield investigate-" Henry's question trailed off at the expression on Fargo's face.

Jo wondered if the paranoia had finally gotten to him. "You think Mansfield is in on this?"

"No way." Oddly, it was Zane who answered the question. At Fargo's nod he continued. "He's as by the book as they come. Very selective about how he takes risks. He's never disciplined anyone for refusing a test due to safety concerns which could be backed up by evidence. And you all know that I had good reason to verify that." Both Carter and Jo relaxed at hearing Zane's explanation. An evil General Mansfield did not bear thinking about.

"Agreed." Fargo pronounced, wilting slightly as he continued. "We cannot however, be certain about everyone in Mansfield's office." The Director shuffled his feet a moment before sharing his next piece of information. "There have been problems before with modified GD reports getting to the General's desk. Even as far back as Dr. Stark's tenure."

"Modified how?" Henry's voice was unsurprisingly furious at this revelation. Few things angered Eureka's Mayor more than those who would manipulate scientific results for nefarious purposes.

"Results changed. Data sets disappearing. Conclusions modified in ways that both jeopardize our funding and this town's reputation." Deciding to bare all, Fargo added in a confessional tone. "I got Director because my inexperience would justify more visits by the General. He's been carrying the hard copies of the most critical reports to the DoD himself."

Jo vibrated in place with barely contained fury. She suddenly understood exactly how Tess Fontana had felt on Founder's Day upon discovering the existence of the ELF project. "GD has a security breach."

Fargo, rightly identifying her emotional state, barely squeaked out his answer. "Yes. That's why the General wanted a Security Chief actually." Fargo tried to mollify her anger. "He recommended you himself."

"Fargo, I cannot correct Security breaches that I am not informed of!" Jo grounded out the words, arms crossed and feeling brittle all of a sudden.

"I know that." The Director looked around the room. At their expressions, Fargo slumped a little. "Mansfield and I genuinely thought that we could study the patterns of their changes and hopefully, something would give them away. In the past year, we have collected a large amount of data but there's nothing conclusive about it. Hacking GD is an escalation." Fargo's voice hardened, his posture resembling that of a cornered animal which had suddenly decided it wouldn't be lunch today after all. "No one hacks Douglas Fargo or GD and gets away with it! Mansfield's in Afghanistan overseeing the deployment of our new bomb sniffer robots. I can't risk alerting anyone in his office to pass along a message. We have to act now while the trail is hot."

Henry sighed. "Fargo, I don't disagree but what you're asking involves breaking I-don't-know-how-many laws. It is a huge risk that you are asking us to take."

Fargo shook his head. "Not us. Me. And Zane." He waved at the remainder of the attendees. "You are witnesses. I am ordering Zane to hack the Pentagon absent Mansfield's permission. Failure to comply with my order will result in Zane being returned to prison. I take full responsibility for that order."

Jo's jaw dropped. While she knew that Fargo had his moments, she honestly didn't think him capable of such an act. Granted his reputation as a dictatorial boss would make such an act semi-believable but, Jo knew regulations well enough to know his order could have just as many horrible repercussions for him as it could for Zane. Once they had recovered, Jack and Henry shared a look before turning to Zane. Carter asked in a surprisingly gentle tone. "Zane, are you going along with this?"

He tried to cover it. But Jo had seen him panicked too many times. Hell, she'd gotten him in that state too many times to miss the fear Zane worked very hard to suppress. He opened with a joke. "I've always wanted a crack at the Pentagon." He fiddled with his datapad a moment. "I'm not exactly Mansfield's favorite person and sonic protocols don't leave any record of-"

"Hence the witnesses. They will remain to confirm that the hack was limited solely to tracing the source of our own security breach." Jo's eyebrows shot up even further. Fargo had clearly thought this out. Zane's reluctance did not fade though. Jo didn't blame him. Fargo would be thrown out as Director if the General didn't back this after the fact. However, if Mansfield felt like being unforgiving, he could throw Zane into the deepest, darkest maximum security facility the US government had available.

"This may not be a bad idea."

Carter jolted at Henry's proclamation. "Are you crazy? Zane, you do not have to do this!"

Henry put up a hand. "Listen Jack, the town was founded with the DoD's backing but it remains a civilian, semi-independent entity. The town charter includes some pretty specific protocols in case of possible intelligence leaks at the DoD end of things."

Jo suddenly recalled her own studies of the town charter from her deputy days. She spoke up. "Henry's right! The Charter states that Eureka or its designated officials have the independent authority to investigate intelligence leaks even if they lead back to the government, especially the DoD. We need to keep our liaison informed but are free to pursue an independent investigation. It only needs-"

Henry finished for her. "The approval of the Mayor and Sheriff." He nodded to Zane. "Which you have."

Carter added his two cents without hesitation. "Ditto."

Zane stared at Jo a few moments more. There was no way she would let him try this without knowing that she had his back. Jo crossed the room, seating herself on the couch next to him. "Give me the pad." Zane did not hesitate to do so. She worked quickly, knowing that sonic protocols would be noticed eventually. After a few moments, she handed the pad back. "Here, the town charter. Read for yourself." She leaned in, hand on his arm. "It even says that the agreement can be verbal so long as there are two witnesses." Jo pointed to herself then Fargo. "One. Two. Mansfield cannot throw you in jail for this. He can only contest the decisions of the officials giving you the order."

"Which I will contest right back." Fargo proclaimed. Jo felt some of the tension in Zane dissipate. So his next words surprised her.

"Give me something."

"What?" Fargo and Carter's response echoed, both equally insulted.

"Zane, could you try not to be a-." The words died as she met his eyes. Oh, right. Plausible deniability. Even if Zane was ordered, Mansfield could still see things in a bad light. If he did, the General could decide to revoke certain privileges that convicted felons did not normally have in Eureka…like their own labs. But if he had to be bribed - She turned to the others. "He's right. Mansfield needs to be convinced that Zane didn't do this on his own and we covered for him later with the excuse of GD being hacked."

Fargo nodded before reaching for his PDA. "A quantum flux generator, I think." Jo heard and felt Zane suck in a breath. She ordinarily was not able to readily identify specific pieces of test equipment. But that one she knew. There were only seven of them in the world and six were in Eureka. They were not the sort of toy given to people who, however accidentally, destroyed 150 million dollar prototypes.

Henry piped in as Fargo arranged the transfer. "You don't think that's excessive?"

Fargo continued typing as he responded. "It needs to be excessive, doesn't it? Or it won't convince the General that we forced him and not the other way around. Done." He looked up. "The electronic transfer ticket should be in the system with a time-stamp." Fargo nodded to Zane. "Whenever you're ready."

* * *

Zane worked like he never had before. Okay, that wasn't exactly true. In his less reformed days, he had hacked the Pentagon three times. Each one had been a simple hit-and-run to the outer periphery of their internal network. Judging by the charges not present on his Federal indictment, the US government remained blissfully unaware of those excursions. Still, tracing a hack was a significantly more involved task and, while having legal backing helped, if he left too many fingerprints some enterprising NSA code monkey would be making a career out of catching the person responsible for three previous hacks.

As he worked, Zane silently hoped that if he was id'ed for the previous hacks, the General would take into consideration that he had not repeated the crime without extreme incentive. A quantum flux generator. Holy shit, when Fargo bribed someone he certainly didn't screw around. Zane shook his head, working as quickly as possible. One other additional constraint existed compared to his previous jaunts. Sonic protocols are only good for a couple hours. Any longer and the DoD received an automated message that a major security breach was in progress. They had wasted a half-hour arranging his legal cover.

Even with that delay, it was less than an hour later that he finally looked up from his datapad in shock. "Huh."

"What is it? Did you get caught?"

Zane glared at Fargo's accusation before answering. "No. You were hacked but not by the DoD. By the taxman."

"What?" Fargo practically leapt across the coffee table, snatching Zane's datapad before he could be stopped. "The DoD Accounting Department?"

"Yeah. You know what's even more interesting? I found out one of the things they were doing while in GD's system." Fargo reluctantly handed back the datapad but moved to sit next to Zane on the couch. Zane type for a few moment more, pulling up a W4 form. "This is the tax exemption form for our new historian, Dr. Grant."

Fargo leaned over his shoulder. "So?" Zane felt Jo also edge ever so slightly closer, a gesture more welcome than Fargo's proximity.

Zane pointed to the screen. "This is not the W4 on paper file at GD. They changed the electronic copy in our HR directory."

"How do you know that?" Jo's voice whispered. In a louder tone, she continued. "You haven't left this room to check the physical copies."

Fargo answered for Zane. "He doesn't have to. They're scanned and put on a shared server. They're encrypted and we label the whole directory 'Sewer Spare Parts Requisitions' forms or something like that." Zane stiffened slightly at Fargo's tone. Not many people knew exactly where GD kept their employees' tax information and having a known felon with several charges of bank fraud be able to track it down probably did not please their boss.

Miraculously, Fargo made no comment on Zane's knowledge. He simply leaned back and demanded. "Show me the original scan."

Zane hit a couple buttons. His screen split showing two versions of the same document. "See here? The one in Eureka's scanned files shows eleven dependents. The one they changed with hack shows only one."

Fargo snickered. "The big-bad temporal conspiracy hacked GD to prevent tax fraud via typo?"

Carter shrugged. "Well, they are the Accounting Department. Everybody's got a line in sand."

Zane found himself snorting before correcting them both. "Actually, they're still committing tax fraud, among other things." Seeing everyone's baffled looks, he explained. "You make enough fake identities, you learn how to spot the signs and this –" He pointed to Dr. Grant's personal info on the datapad screen. "Is a fake id."

Carter frowned. "We used to confirm fake ids with Social Security cross-checks and phone calls to various agencies for the hard-copy info." He nodded to himself, lost in thought a moment.

"I don't know about the phone calls but getting info out of Social Security isn't hard." At everyone's pointed glares, Zane added. "So I've heard."

"Actually, let me give my buddies in the Marshals a call. If anyone in Eureka runs this check then there's a risk we'll be caught."

Fargo nodded at Carter's suggestion. Henry piped in with an idea of his own. "It occurs to be that we haven't made the Grants very welcome. Perhaps Grace and I should invite them to our party tomorrow as a belated welcoming gesture?"

Jo joined in as well. "Between Zane & I, we can do a check of the 1940's records in Eureka. See if there were any mysterious disappearances and-"

Zane finished for her. "If any disappeared persons are remarkably similar to Doctor or Mrs. Grant."

Looking considerably more relaxed than when they entered his office, Fargo stood abruptly and clapped his hands together. "Sounds like a plan." He crossed to his desk, typing on his keypad for a moment before continuing. "I appreciate you all taking the time to review security updates for Eureka with me. I know the incident on Founder's Day left us all shaken." Zane wasn't the only one suppressing a grin at Fargo's double-talk. Talk about your understatements. "Back to work people!"

They mingled a few moments more, exchanging just the sort of small-talk you'd expect from the leaders of Eureka after a run-of-the-mill security briefing. Zane caught the Sheriff's eye, prompting Carter to pull Jo toward the exit. "Hey, I was actually coming by to see you today. We need to go over those joint response exercises that you talked me into having. Andy's been really looking forward to it-" Carter's voice disappeared down the hall with Jo in tow, but not before she shot a look of warning over her shoulder. Damnit, why couldn't he be dating an unobservant woman who wasn't trained in interrogation?

Grabbing his datapad in a huff, Zane almost missed Fargo's next request. "Doctor Donovan, could you stay a moment?" Fargo, now out from behind his desk, gestured him forward.

Zane approached warily. Fargo's last plan had risked him being thrown back in jail and the man had waited until everyone left the room first before approaching him with this one. "Yeah?"

"I've been reviewing the employee database and realized that we hadn't performed a personal history verification in a while." Fargo held up a hand, as if cutting of Zane's protests. Protests Zane didn't think to make because he was still attempting to figure out what his boss was up to. "I'd appreciate it if you took the time generate a randomized list of employee id numbers for further scrutiny by Security Chief Lupo."

If this were a cartoon, a lightbulb would have appeared over Zane's head. Personal history verifications require several up-close interviews and a rather through check of an employee's data history on site. Both he and Fargo knew that a "random" number generator could be constructed that generated anything but random numbers. Hell, you massage any algorithm just right, it'll practically leap up out of the screen and dance if that's what floats your boat. Still, the work was tedious enough that ordinarily Zane would have put up a fuss. "Forget it. I still got Mansfield's pet project to work on and the Sky Cruiser to rebuild. Find someone else to-"

"No." Thankfully, judging by the twinkle in his eye, Fargo appeared to realize what Zane was doing. "Doctor Donovan, surely a randomized search of our employee ids is neither beyond your skills nor likely to take you very long, right?" Zane grudgingly nodded. "Then please let Lupo know when you have the list." With that the Director returned to his desk, ignoring Zane's presence any further.

Zane figured, if this were a real scuffle, he'd never let Fargo get the last word. "Need anything else? Tardis blueprints, maybe?"

Fargo's voice hardened, implying he who giveth quantum flux generators can taketh away. "Donovan." Zane sniffed in mock defeat. Nothing wrong with getting into the role.

As Zane left the office, he idly wondered if anyone else suspected that their klutzy boss was secretly very good at running GD. Zane gave himself a shake. Now, he just needed to find a nice out of the way place to comply with Fargo's "request" and think about what he was going to do about the Jo-Zoe situation.

* * *

Jo allowed Carter his distraction, knowing that she'd get the story somehow later. Anyway, they really did need to go over the exercises. Carter had been putting her off for weeks and if his plotting with Zane helped make that happen, well, Jo wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. As she and Carter wrapped up their review of the plans, Jo told herself that she should be pleased that one of her closest friends and her boyfriend were getting along well enough to plot behind her back instead of sniping at one another. When Carter finally left after a call from Deputy Andy regarding some new statue people at a warehouse in town, Jo found herself sighing. Even when they get along, the men in her life were trouble.

Her chair swiveled, now facing a wall of monitors. The randomized feeds from cameras all over GD were of little interest to her. Zane was Up To Something and, as girlfriend or Security Chief, she needed to know what. It took her a while to find him. For some reason he was avoiding the main areas and interestingly, the infirmary with the petrified Dr. Thurogood. Ever since Founder's Day, Zane without fail attempted (and usually succeeded) in inserting himself into Eureka's crisis-of-the-day.

Instead, he was slinking through the semi-closed portions of Section Four. He wasn't evading the cameras like she knew he could but he was evading everyone else. What were he and Carter up to?

Jo watched the security feed, awaiting her prey's fatal move. While Zane was unquestionably capable of sneaking around electronic networks without being noticed, he was significantly less competent at real-life evasion. Finally, in his panic, Zane made a critical error by ducking into a supply closet long familiar to Jo. Not many people knew exactly where the service tunnel exits were and much fewer used them to get around GD.

Zane was muttering to himself, facing away from the vent when she emerged. She waited a moment, assessing her boyfriend's body language before clearing her throat.

"Holy fucking shit!" Zane jumped and almost wrenched the door open until he saw her. "Jo! What the fuck is wrong with you? How did you-" His eyes saw past her to the now closed service tunnel vent. He recovered with an admiring smirk. "So that's how you sneak around?" He tilted his head with a bemused grin. "Although, if you could sneak then, why are you always stalking the halls scaring scientists?"

"Because they behave better when they know I'm watching."

Zane's smirked got even wider. "So you do like to watch?"

Jo ignored the comment. She and Zane needed to have a discussion and didn't need to indulge in nostalgia for the days when she would have handcuffed him for a remark like that. "I need to speak to you." She paused, ensuring that she had his full attention. "About the Carter Situation."

"Oh thank God!" Zane, freaking Zane hugged her overcome with shocking gratitude. It ended before she could say anything but he left his hands on her arms, gripping her elbows slightly. "Great! This is sorta you're fault anyway, so I'll take it."

Jo's eyes narrowed. "How is this my fault?"

Zane dropped his hands, leaving two rapidly fading warm patches on Jo's sleeves. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he managed to speak. "You said that I never apologized! Well, I did and now, Zoe's hitting on me and Carter's pissed."

Jo stood there stunned. "You apologized?" Then, the rest of his words finally sunk in. "Zoe's hitting on you?"

Zane shifted, looking everywhere but at her. "Look, I offered her some tutoring. As an apology but, I guess she got, um, confused about it." He caught the look on her face and added. "I was just trying to fix things!"

Jo felt like she'd been punched in the gut. Zoe had been oddly fragile in their conversation at the spa. She'd been so eager to provide advice that Jo hadn't bothered to gather critical intel, like the identity of the tutor. Shit. Her breath hitched before she spoke next. "Zane, maybe we-"

"No!" Her boyfriend went still and, because she knew him well, quietly furious. There was none of his usual mocking flirtation as he backed her up against a wall. "Listen, I didn't want to hurt Zoe and I'm sorry that I managed to screw up a simple apology." He gave a self-deprecating shrug. "Not like I got much experience there. But, not after two years, Jo. Not when-" Jo watched him collect himself a moment before continuing. "Just. No."

Ordinarily, Jo would agree. Damn what anyone thought. She and Zane were good together. But she couldn't shake Zoe's expression when not talking about what happened with Lucas. Staring up at Zane's unnaturally genuine pleading expression, Jo's mind worked furiously trying to reconcile things. No matter how she put the pieces together Zoe still got hurt, either now or in the long run. Because if there was one thing Jo was sure of, it was that Zoe would not be any happier finding out she had accidentally developed a crush on Jo's boyfriend than Jo was.

Without her conscious intention, Jo's hand came up. She opened her mouth, not entirely sure what she was going to say. Jo's eyes widened at the sight of her hand, unnaturally stiff and gray. As she watched, the pallor crept down her wrist and below her shirt-sleeve. Another hand abruptly gripped her own, the sensation barely registering. Jo looked up to see Zane's face morphing from pleading to panic. "I saw it, too. Infirmary. Now."

They didn't speak along the way. Jo still felt a bit gobsmacked by both Zoe's crush and Zane's emphatic response. The hand which gripped her arm was firm but gentle. Still, he moved with barely restrained intensity that Jo hadn't seen in a long while. Hell, before Founder's Day, she usually had to spend a couple hours taunting him from the other side of bars to get this kind of reaction.

By the time they got to the infirmary, both her arms were immobile below the elbow. Whatever it was had begun to turn her clothing also, her jacket oddly turning faster than the skin under it in places. The infirmary had no less than five full-sized statues scattered about with faces frozen in expressions of disturbing agony. Off to the side, Zoe was being examined by an anxious looking Alison while Carter hovered nearby. The young girl's arms were also now gray and stiff. Zane did not bother with small-talk.

"Blake, Jo's turning too." He held up Jo's arm, relatively gently given the brusque nature of the gesture. "Take a look."

Alison immediately began examining Jo, asking questions as she did so. Unfortunately, Jo was barely coherent enough to answer beyond a few mumbled words. She was focused entirely on not looking at Zoe. Carter's next question caught her attention. "What a minute, I was at the site same as everybody else and-" He held up his wholly untransformed hands. "I'm fine. Why?"

Alison frowned. "That's not the only problem. Both Jo and Zoe appear to be transforming at an accelerated rate compared to the others. Something supercharged the process for them."

Zoe, taking a break from frowning at Jo and Zane's proximity, piped up. "Thurogood faked his archaeological find by using his accelerated PERM solution. Something we were all exposed to must be catalyzing the reaction."

Alison frowned. "If you received a catalyzer in a higher dose than the others, that would explain the differing transformation rate."

Jo heard Zane sniffing behind her before he asked offhandedly. "Why do I smell oranges?"

Jo finally met Zoe's eyes as they both exclaimed. "The spa!"

Carter snapped his fingers. "The de-polymer-whatever solution smelled like oranges too! That's why most people at the construction site were affected."

Alison, preempting Jo's attempt to leave, interjected. "Why don't you and Zane go to the spa and find me that catalyst while I tend to them?"

Carter nodded but Zane, damn him, decided to make a point before leaving. His lips were on her own before Jo could stop him. The kiss itself was uncharacteristically short, just a quick press of lips. As he pulled away, she felt his hand trail down her upper arm to where flesh met stone. "Remember, you owe me a game of Yahtzee."

Forgetting her rapidly fossilizing condition, Jo narrowed her eyes. She called after him as he ducked through the infirmary door. "You're gonna get your ass kicked, Donovan!" Honestly, Jo was sure if she meant at Yahtzee or more literally. But for a moment, she didn't care. For a moment, it was just her and Zane grinning through the infirmary windows at each other as he and Carter went in search of catalyzing agents. And in that moment, she decided that maybe he had a point. Lying to Zoe, even for a short while, didn't serve anything but her own cowardice. Not that she planned to tell Zane that right away. He'd be insufferable.

But a moment later, Jo was back in the real world. Faced with Zoe's slightly wounded expression or Alison's knowing smirk, she went with the lesser of two evils. She met Alison's gaze as if daring the woman to make comment. Fortunately, Alison refrained, choosing instead to deal with the medical situation. "How about you two lie down so we can run some tests?"

* * *

Zane couldn't stop grinning. Compared to past public confrontations, that kiss went a lot better than expected. She didn't hit him and he'd be remembering the grin on her face through the infirmary windows for quite some time. Zane caught Carter shaking his head as they walked across the GD parking lot. "What?"

Carter smirked, drawling out his reply. "Blind people in Kazakhstan." The Sheriff's expression fell slightly. "You made your point though."

Zane winced, very glad to have missed Zoe's reaction to his stunt. "Sorry about that."

Carter gave a dismissive wave. "She'll be fine." His shoulders slumped a little. "I never thought I'd miss her dating Lucas and his weirdo hair."

"It's shorter, now. Regular cut."

Carter shook his head. "Figures. Normal hair and suddenly Zoe can't stand him."

While Zane didn't disagree, he had spoken to both of the teens recently and Carter's comment seemed a bit unfair. "I got the feeling it was more than that." At the Sheriff's raised eyebrows, he continued. "They both were a bit, um, squirrelly about what happened. I got the impression it was pretty mutual and mutually bad."

"Well, crap."

Zane froze. It occurred to him that all this would have been avoided if Lucas and Zoe had just not broken up. For one thing, she wouldn't have needed a physics tutor. This whole mess could have been avoided. But as much as Zane would be perfectly happy to let the Sheriff bring parental vengeance, he had made a promise to prevent just that. Unless….."Hey Carter? Lay off Lucas when he gets back in town."

Carter turned, a few paces ahead. "What? Why?"

"That was his favor. Zoe's was tutoring. His was protection."

That brought the Sheriff up short. He grinned, obviously pleased with himself. "From me? Huh."

Zane let that sink in a moment before delivering the punch-line. "Besides, which is scarier? You being a hardass or you really, really pleased to see your daughter's ex-boyfriend." Carter snickered at that. "Not to mention, we could out-source this to a third-party that he'd never expect like Fargo."

Carter shook his head. "Actually, he and Zoe talk a lot." At Zane's expression, he shrugged. "American Idol really brings people together. And siccing Fargo on Lucas would be like killing a gnat with a nuke."

Zane grinned, resuming their walk. "Yeah, overkill." The Sheriff matched his pace but did not voice agreement with Zane's last statement. Whether Fargo got involved or not, Lucas was in for a very interesting trip next time he came home. Zane made a mental note to keep an eye on things in case this form of revenge exceeded certain parameters.

The spa loomed ahead of them, surrounded by placid trees and fountains. Frankly, the place always gave Zane the creeps. All that lying around, doing nothing, just wasn't right. Not to mention that Jo came here and was getting turned to stone because of it. Clearly the place was evil. As they approached the front desk, he decided to let Carter do the talking.

"Hey, Doctor Verchelli."

The woman behind the counter smiled widely. "Sheriff! I'm so glad you took my advice to heart. And you're lucky. I have an opening for a moisturizing facial right now!" Zane snickered while Carter sputtered a few moments.

"Not why I'm here, thank you." Carter's tone conveyed anything but gratitude. "Actually, we wanted to know what treatments my daughter & Jo Lupo got earlier today?"

Dr. Verchelli frowned. "I don't think those treatments would be right for either of you." Zane almost snickered again. That is until he realized that the crazy spa doctor was accusing him of needing a facial.

Zane shared a look with Carter, mentally giving the man permission to use excessive force. Carter, having gotten the message, gave the woman behind the counter his brightest 'I'm-the-most-easy-going-trouble-you've-ever-gotten-into' smile. "Which one involves orange-scented chemicals?"

Something in his tone must of finally sunk in, because the Doctor's smile finally faded. "The exfoliating hand-dip? The active ingredient is limonene."

At Carter's blank look, Zane clarified. "Orange oil."

Carter's grin widened, causing Dr. Verchelli to shrink back behind her desk a little. "We'll need a sample. Please." Less than a minute later, they exited canister in hand. Zane found himself ecstatic that Zoe got a crush on him out of her system before she fully came into her family's intimidation superpowers.

Several hours and a great deal of work on Dr. Blake's part later, all formerly stone Eureka residents were now flesh and blood. And, in the case of Dr. Thurogood, headed for jail. Zane hovered around the infirmary as Dr. Blake completed one final exam before releasing Jo. He had made sure to disappear when they released Zoe, knowing the Sheriff would get her away from him real quick. Good man, Carter. Now, he just had to talk to Jo. Watching her turn to stone had been excruciating, but sitting in that chair holding her stiff hand had given Zane a lot of time to think.

Dr. Blake wrapped up her exam, giving Zane an encouraging smile before returning to her desk. Zane approached Jo before she could duck away. "Hey."

Jo smiled at him, causing him to relax slightly. Not gonna be killed for that kiss. Zane decided his plan was a go. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah. Um…" Jo glanced around the infirmary. While no where near as packed as earlier in the day, there were still several people milling around. Not to mention, Blake was watching them like a hawk but pretending not to.

"Come on. I know a place." Although he hadn't dared previously, for the second time today Zane took her hand in public. Most interestingly, for the second time, Jo let him. A tiny flicker of hope sprung to life in Zane. As they walked, he took a few deep breaths. Present hypothesis, test hypothesis. He was a scientist, done it a million times.

Around the corner and down the hall a bit from the infirmary was a supply closet almost no one realized was there. Zane pulled them both inside before Jo could protest.

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. Zane started in before she had time to cut him off. "Look, I get that you don't want to hurt Zoe. Hell, I don't want to either. But lying to her and pretending we are not dating isn't going to change that. Later, she'd just be pissed that we lied."

Jo slumped slightly. "I know." She frowned up at him, eyes sharp. "Not that someone gave me much choice with that stunt in the infirmary."

Zane didn't even pretend to be sorry. "I know we've been pretty, um, discreet-" Jo snorted causing something in him to loosen. "What? We have!" Seeing Jo's grin, Zane wrapped his arms around her. "For a given value of 'discreet'."

Jo rolled her eyes but returned the embrace. "So, what's your cunning plan?"

Zane took a breath before replying. "Zoe has to understand that we're together. No more hiding….Especially since we suck at it." She snickered again, this time her breath warming his chest.

He felt her relax in his arms, knowing her reply before she spoke. "Okay."

Jo, ever the investigator, suddenly pulled away slightly. "If we're not hiding anymore, why are we in a supply closet?

"Ah, yeah." Zane shuffled his feet before answering. "I had an idea about 'not hiding'."

Jo's eyes narrowed. "No public indecency."

Zane pulled her back against his chest. "Well, that's a shame." He cleared his throat before continuing. "This floor has a janitor. She's, um, a bit of a talker." Zane nonchalantly lifted Jo's phone out of her pocket, not looking at her before checking the time. "She'll be by in five minutes."

Jo took her phone back, asking. "How much of a talker?"

"Vincent will know within minutes."

Her eyebrows went up. For a second, Zane had his life flash before his eyes. The kiss in the infirmary was in front of friends who wouldn't generally tell anyone else. This, however, was going to be as close to public making out as Zane figured he'd ever get away with. Just as Zane had worked himself in a slight frenzy of worry, he saw it. The gold-star smile was back.

Jo tried to play coy, not very believable on her normally. But with the smile, it was just pointless. "Any other reasons to go through with this?"

Zane grinned. "Now that you mention it…."

* * *

The man did know how to persuade. It was both the longest and shortest five minutes of Jo's life. "Oh my goodness gracious!" A woman's voice jerked them both back to reality.

Jo glanced around Zane to see a mousy brunette furiously cleaning her glasses. Zane gave her no notice at all, concentrating instead on Jo's neck. Jo pulled away, shooting him a look. The smarmy bastard just grinned utterly unrepentant and not moving his hands. "We'll just get out of your way."

"Killjoy." Zane muttered as they collected themselves and a couple articles of clothing. Somehow, she'd lost her jacket and he his shirt. As Jo attempted to tuck her shirt back in and shrug on her jacket, she noticed Zane staring at the shelves in the corner. She glanced at them to find his shirt barely visible on the top shelf. Zane frowned, reaching for it. "I don't remember you doing that."

Jo kept quiet, already blushing under the pointed not-scrutiny of the janitor. Mentally though, she gave herself a pat on the back. Zane Donovan had an eidetic memory and she knew from experience that it wasn't easy to short circuit. Clearing her throat, Jo practically dragged Zane past the janitor and out into the hallway. "Excuse us."

Glaring at them both, the janitor reached into the closet and grabbed a bucket full of cleaners before slamming the door shut and stomping off in the direction of the infirmary. Jo almost wrote the whole thing off as a waste of time until she noticed the woman pull out her phone as she rounded the corner.

"Well, that was-"

"Awesome." Jo tried to glare at Zane. He shrugged. "Never convince me otherwise." Jo took a deep breath. If she smiled at that, he was probably three steps from convincing her of that public indecency plan that he not-so-convincingly denied. God, the man was trouble.

Instead of replying, she moved down the hall confident that he'd follow. "So, am I correct in assuming that Yahtzee is still on?" Jo smirked over her shoulder as Zane matched her step. He noticeably brightened before asking a second question. "Dinner?"

Jo thought a moment, they'd had Thai for lunch. She could really go for some-

"Oh my god! What is wrong with you people?" The janitor came barreling around the next corner, brushing past the two of them with another glare. Once again, her phone was out before the mousy woman darted back down the hall towards the supply closet. Jo shared a baffled look with Zane. He nodded in the direction of the corner, eyebrows waggling. Well, she was the Security Chief.

As she rounded the corner, Jo failed to suppress a laugh at the sight of Carter and Alison adjusting their clothes. Carter was blushing like crazy and Alison did not look up at the sound of Jo's giggles.

Zane, of course, was not helping. "Sheriff, have you no decency?"

"Oh shut up!" Carter's intimidation factor really dropped when he was tucking his shirt in.

Still laughing, Jo and Zane approached their friends. Jo elbowed Zane, pointing to a corner. "Right under a camera too."

Zane shook his head with mock disappointment. "Amateurs."

Both Jo and Carter's phone began vibrating. "What is it?" Alison's query was met by yet more snickering this time between Jo and Carter.

Carter collected himself first. "Fargo just got a phone call from a janitor who thinks there's a pheromone or something loose in GD because she just caught two couples making out in hallways."

"Hey, we were in a supply closet!" Jo closed her eyes at Zane's indignation, knowing that any high ground in the teasing for this incident was now lost. She reopened her eyes to find Alison fully recovered with an amused grin back in place.

"Why don't Jack and I explain things so you two can make a getaway?"

Carter smirked as she and Zane both nodded their agreements. Before he could comment further, his phone vibrated again. Jo, feeling her own phone go off, checked her text messages only to dissolve into laughter again.

At Zane's insistence, she held the phone out for him to read. From Fargo's personal line there was a terse message. "Just chked feeds. Plz leave. Janitor won't clean until ur gone. GD is not Love Boat ppl! "

She pocketed the phone to find Carter and Alison staring at one another. God, surely she and Zane weren't that bad. She turned to the man in question, as Zane took her hand yet again. Clearly this was going to be a thing with him. Jo smiled up at him a moment before a throat clearing got her attention.

As she glared at Carter, he asked. "Need a ride home?"

Her fingers tightened around Zane's. "Nope. Wait, Zoe was-"

Carter's mirth faded. "Yeah, she's spending the night at Pilar's."

Jo sighed, feeling Zane give her hand a squeeze. However unintentional the situation was, she figured that she deserved to get ditched tonight. "Okay."

Carter shifted his attention. "Zane?"

"Yeah?" Jo noticed Zane's posture got just a tad defensive.

"You've got pink on your neck. Right there." Carter pointed behind his own left ear. Alison, tucked into Carter's side, snickered.

As Zane wiped off the offending smudge, Jo stupidly blurted out "She surprised us!"

"Of course." Carter's condescending tone rarely approached the infuriating quality than Zane's had most of the time. But he was getting there, fast.

**The End (for now)**

* * *

Coming Soon (well, soonish)

_"...Besides, it's my own fault for getting in the way of the Lupo-Donovan Vibe of Destiny."_

_Jo couldn't stop her protest, even if that same vibe was currently driving her a little bit nuts. "We don't have a-"_

_"Please. I should have checked the betting in you & Zane's pool before coming back to town." Zoe waved at Vincent behind the counter, who cheerfully returned the gesture. "Do you know the odds have dipped from 100:1 against to 20:1 in favor in just the last three months? What have you been getting up to Jo? And, more importantly, why haven't I heard about it until now?"_


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** See Chapter One

**Rating:** T (again, portions of this might reference M-level stuff thanks to Zane's hallucinations so if you think the rating is wrong...let me know)

**Notes:** I am so sorry for the huge, obscene delay in this chapter. I actually had a series of writer's blocks for this chapter in terms of plot, tone and well most of it really. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story in recent months as it was incredibly helpful for guilt-tripping myself into buckling down and getting this done. I still plan to finish this but again, it might take a while. I really want to end on a high note so the "I'll Be Seeing You" chapter needs to just perfect before I'll post it here.

* * *

**Chapter Seven – The Ex-Files**

Jo cursed under her breath as she glanced at the dashboard clock. Zane, damn him, appeared wholly unconcerned that they were insanely late to the Deacon's barbecue. Which, Jo conceded, was a little bit her fault. A couple weeks ago, Zane had alluded to plans involving showers, her and him. This morning, Jo had merely intended to remind him. Jo tapped a finger on the steering wheel as she drove, mentally forbidding a sigh to escape. It had been a really good plan.

Zane's hand reached across the front seat of her car, covering her own on the steering wheel and ceasing her tapping. "Jo?"

She bristled slightly at the question in Zane's voice. "I'm not chickening out. It's just that between Zoe and the Grants, this will be the most stressful party that I've attended in a long time."

Zane tilted his head a moment, retracting his hand. "Isn't it the only party you've attended in a long time?" She diverted her eyes from the road a moment to glare at him. "Kidding. Besides, your dedication and focus –" Only Zane Donovan could make those attributes sound x-rated. "Are growing on me. Especially the focus." Jo felt rather than saw him smirking at her.

Do not encourage him. Do not encourage him. Jo willed a blush out of existence before replying. "Today, I need to focus on the Grants." She puffed out a breath. "And not hurting Zoe."

"Okay, so since I'm the worst possible choice for Zoe-related corrective actions, I call dibs on spying on the Grants." Zane met her glare with ease. "Unless you'd rather me try to deal with Zoe-"

"No." Jo's voice was emphatic. Unlike a few months ago, she knew that Zane had good intentions. But judging by his response to Zoe's crush, what he lacked was any intuition for how much the girl was hurting right now. The crush on Zane was a symptom. Jo knew, with furious certainty, the real problem was whatever happened with Lucas. When that poofy-haired snot got back into town-

As they pulled up to the Deacon's home, Jo noted the cars present and those missing. "Dammit."

Zane nodded in agreement as he released his seatbelt. "It seems the Grants are busy." Jo bit her lip. The Grant's absence denied them both the pleasing distraction of focusing on the latest Eureka mystery rather than her little sister in all but name. Zane waited, eying her warily.

Under other circumstances, Jo would be very amused at Zane Donovan demonstrating restraint, patience and good sense all in one go. Right now her thoughts demanded more of her attention. Technically, Zoe already knew about Jo and Zane. In another easier life, Jo imagined a very different trip to the spa for girl-talk, with her informing Zoe of her newly-not-single status. Jo could easily imagine that Zoe's reaction full of happy squeeing and "OMG, how did this happen?please,comeonyouhavetotellme!".

After tolerating her reluctance a few moments, Zane finally spoke. "Jo, " He said, gently. "We're not going to rub her face in it. Zoe's enough of a scientist to know definitive evidence and she knows what she saw yesterday."

Jo faced him, trying and failing to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. "So why are we doing this again?"

"Corroboration. Repeatability. Establishes a pattern. Proves there's something bigger in all the chaos." Once again, Zane reached across the front seat to squeeze her hand. "Otherwise, it could be just a freak occurrence, a blip."

A two-year long blip? A non-scientist like Jo could identify that trend. Even at the height of their animosity, Jo hadn't wanted him any less. And now that she had him….Jo squeezed back. "I see no blips here." Zane grinned widely as they exited the car.

The Deacon backyard overflowed with paraphernalia for suburban outdoor fun. A table full of dishes sat off to the side, with folding chairs scattered about. In the rear corner of the yard, someone had set-up a croquet game waiting for interested parties. At another table, Fargo was doing something to a stereo which was bound to explode any minute. Jack and Alison stood off to the side, flirting over a shared bowl of guacamole. Henry & Grace clustered together, both adjusting some sort of devices attached to their temples. Henry noticed them first.

"Hey! Welcome! Come on in!" Jo hugged them both in quick succession. Zane, surprisingly hesitant at such attention, shot Jo a wide-eyed look over Grace's shoulder when the woman embraced him in greeting. Jo knew that Henry shared everything with his wife. As far as both Deacons were concerned, hacking the Pentagon and risking going back to jail to protect the town were a hug-worthy acts.

A burst of music broke up their greetings. Fargo, proud of himself, began dancing next to the stereo. Jo snickered at her boyfriend's expression. Zane had arrived in town well after Fargo reinvented himself as Dr. Stark's bumbling, tyrannical assistant but Jo remembered their boss fresh from his post-doc fellowship and considerably more fancy-free.

Jack's mocking but amused voice cut the through the music. "Having fun, Fargo?"

Fargo halted mid-jive. He straightened, clearing his throat. "Just setting the mood, Sheriff."

"Is the mood 'crazy'?" Jo's breath hitched at Zoe's voice. Scanning the yard, she found the girl seated off to the side, hidden behind a pile of plastic-ware and napkins.

Fargo bristled slightly. "Festivity is not insanity." Zoe did not deign that with a response besides a quick wrinkle of her nose. She also did not spare Jo and Zane a glance much less greet either of them. Fargo, upon watching the girl a moment, frowned at Zoe before rubbing his hands together excitedly. "When do we eat?"

"Well-" Grace disentangled herself from her husband's attention. "Vincent was kind enough to provide us some ahi tuna steaks. So, we just need to sear those and then, we are good to go." She gestured to a Redi-cool tote and a strange-looking blowtorch next to it.

Jo's stomach growled, causing everyone to grin. Zane failed to hide an especially pleased expression. She didn't have to be a mind reader to know he was thinking of the reason that they both missed breakfast. Grace picked up the blowtorch, extending it to Fargo. "If you will do the honors…" Jo smiled at the sheer delight on her boss's face.

Carter, however, groused from his position next to Alison. "Whatever happened to good old fashioned charcoal & hamburgers?"

That earned him an affectionate rebuke from Alison. "Jack, tuna is far healthier -"

Zane interjected with a rebuke of his own. "Come on, Blake! Under certain conditions, I could definitely see you as a cheeseburger kind of girl." Jo gently elbowed him in the side, earning a smirk in response. Alison shot Zane a good-natured glare. Unfortunately for Alison, Carter noticed all this and appeared more than a little interested in the (Alison + cheeseburgers) equation.

Having spent the conversation focused on setting up the blowtorch, Fargo added his opinion. "Besides, who wouldn't want to see this beauty in action? Hydrogen feeds, multi-modal temperature regulation-"

Zoe, from her perch next to the picnic table, waved a dismissive hand. "Hydrogen, ha!"

Fargo narrowed his eyes before replying in a sing-song voice. "Just one proton you contain, Yet you baffled Neils Bohr's brain. The Hindenburg was filled with you, Seems that was an error too, But that blast was downright teeny, Compared to testing at Bikini. When four of you are shoved together, That creates our summer weather. Balmer's lines are colored bright, Lyman's look like dark of night. In gas you pair up two by two, No element outnumbers you.*" Zoe smirked slightly, showing signs of her old self for the first time since Jo & Zane had arrived. Jo got the sneaking suspicion that the two were rehashing an old argument. Although why Zoe & Fargo would argue about hydrogen was beyond her.

Henry & Grace beamed at the exchange. Grace released a breathless sigh. "Woolley certainly knew how to turn a phrase." Jo nodded absently, sharing an eye-roll with Carter before a second thought occurred to her.

Jo eyed her boyfriend speculatively. "Zane, why does that poem seem familiar?" The wording, the first two rhymes. It was too similar.

Zane fidgeted a moment, conceding. "I may have modified an existing work to prove my hypothesis."

Amused, Jo leaned over, whispering. "I prefer your version." He smirked down at her, arm sneaking around her waist before she could stop him. Jo smiled, unfortunately seeing past her boyfriend to catch Zoe's expression at the gesture.

As happy as she was, Jo failed to suppress the guilty sting at Zoe's deflated expression. Cheerfulness was a Carter family trait, even in the face of town-destroying experiments. To see a Carter in such a state, no matter how inevitable or understandable or temporary, was unnatural to a certain extent. Watching Zoe out of the corner of her eye, Jo noticed the girl tense as if intending to flee. But before Zoe could make her excuses, a sharp piercing noise punctuated the homey tranquility of the Deacons' backyard.

* * *

"Sonofabitch!" Zane caught Fargo skittering away from the stereo when it emitted a flurry of sparks. As quickly as it rose, the screech fell to nothingness, leaving everyone in the backyard wincing and rubbing their ears. Zane shot a quick look over to Jo, confirming no obvious injuries or pain due to non-obvious causes such as giant bullets appearing somewhere in her body. Hey, fool me twice….

Zane's eyes narrowed as he caught the Deacons exchanging worried looks. He hadn't missed that both of them clutched the devices attached to their temples and not their ears like everyone else. He opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, only to be cut off by a falsely cheerful voice.

"Sorry, we're late." Everyone in the yard turned towards the gate, where the Grants stood somewhat stiffly. Beverly, arms full of potato salad, blinked innocently. "Did you have some trouble with the sound system?" She turned to her husband. "Charles, maybe you could lend a hand?"

The man beside her shrugged in his too-formal-for-a-backyard-barbeque suit. "I'm certain the Doctor Deacons do not need my wholly out-of-date assistance." Zane's eyebrows shot up at the slightly bitter tone to Mr. Grant's statement.

Grant had been hired as a science & technology historian, supposedly an expert in the out-of-date. It made no sense that he'd be bitter about his knowledge of the past state-of-the-art, unless...Zane and Jo shared a quick look as the Deacons welcomed the new arrivals. That's my girl, Zane thought. Their time-traveler was Dr. and not Mrs. Grant. Now they just had to prove it.

Three hours later, Zane shuffled around his lab bristling with defeat. In his criminal career, he depended more than once on his charm to talk his way into a system or discover information hidden from public view. Based on his performance today, however, you would never know that. Both Grants had been polite, cordial and completely evasive.

Now, taken by itself evasiveness certainly was not a crime, but put together with the recent GD hack and other aspects of the Grants' behavior, it certainly made for suspicious circumstances. While both went through the motions of a married couple, you only had to look at the Deacons or even Carter & Blake to know that the Grants' affection for each other was false.

It didn't help their story either that both were crappy liars, at least for out-right falsehoods. A couple times during attempts to talk to the Grants, Zane had to suppress laughter. As a former criminal, Zane was disappointed in both of them. Eureka being infiltrated by a temporal conspiracy was one thing, but being infiltrated by temporal conspirators who were lame at subterfuge? That was just insulting.

Jo and he both left the Deacons frustrated, spending the whole drive to GD griping to one another about the Grants from Mrs. Grant's weirdly chirpy voice to Dr. Grant's patronizing tendency to call everyone 'sport'. Zane had always assumed that he brought out the snark in the Enforcer but it appeared that when frustrated (which was something Zane knew that he did in fact bring out in her) she had a tendency for smack-talk. Like pretty much everything else about Jo, it prompted a grin and a desire to kiss her breathless.

When Zane had joked about not knowing where she utilized such skills in the past when he wasn't around, Jo's mood deflated, providing Zane his answer. How could he have forgotten? Zoe Carter was the grand high queen of Eureka smack-talk. Zane vaguely remembered getting out of GD holding early once because of Zoe had showed up to rant about some girls in her Cybernetics class and Jo, pissed at his constant interjections about cheerleader uniforms, had told him to 'Get lost'.

Jo put on a good front but Zane could see that Zoe's attitude stung. As happy as Zane was with Jo right now, he really wished Zoe would get the hell over herself. Wanting someone who didn't wanted you back, well he'd been there. And Zane knew he was at least partly responsible for this disaster. But, honestly, if Jo and Zoe were so goddamn close why was it solely Jo's responsibility to worry about Zoe's hurt feelings and not the reverse? He valued his life too much to ask Jo but Zane felt it was a valid question. Maybe if Zoe developed the hots for one of Jo's security goons….Zane idly brought up some personnel files that he did not officially have access to before stopping himself.

Past experience suggested that being a super-genius does not help when it came to Carters. Hell, both Carters possessed unofficial doctorates in making super-geniuses look like idiots. In fact, his girlfriend, who had been pretty damn awesome about 'the Carter situation', was one of the few Eureka residents who routinely demonstrated a capability for out-thinking the Carters. Zane closed out the files quickly. Better let Jo take point on this.

"Hello handsome." Zane grinned. Speak of the devi-Holy Shit. Instead of her usual monochromatic pantsuit, Jo was now clad in a sun-dress. A tight, red sun-dress that was his new favorite thing in the universe.

Zane, feeling his pulse pick up at the sight of her, gestured to her outfit. "What's the occasion?"

"Weelll," Jo moved into the room, eyes bright. "I thought due to our overnight activities that I missed an opportunity to dress appropriately for a picnic. Do you like?"

Zane snorted. "Yeah, I like." Jo smiled at him, edging ever closer. Zane's hands twitched at his sides but he decided that his girlfriend in a tightly fitted sun-dress was a sight worth savoring.

Then Zane's stupid godforsaken super-genius mind noticed something, ruining the moment. The air was flat. Every time he got within ten feet of Josephina Lupo, Zane felt like a walking Van De Graff Generator. Now, nothing. Something was wrong. He frowned at her. "Everything okay?"

She smiled up at him, hands reaching. "More than okay. You're always more than okay Zane." His eyes widened, grasping her wrists before they got where they were going.

He checked her pupils for signs of head injury. "What happened?"

"Happened? Nothing happened, Zane." Her hands started caressing the collar of his t-shirt. "Except me realizing how great you are." Her lips rose to meet his. If Zane hadn't already kissed and been kissed by Jo, he might have fell for it. But he knew her. God, how he knew her. That she nipped and sucked and gasped like it was a battle, never giving an inch and taking anything she wanted. The much-too-gentle lips on his possessed none of Jo's ferocity. Zane skittered back out of reach.

He swallowed. "Jo, I think we should go see Blake."

Jo frowned, closing the distance. "But I thought I was enough for you?" She smiled, expression suddenly eager to please. "Although, I'm okay with some experimentation if that's what makes you happy." She continued to reach, expression open and relaxed and not-at-all eviscerating him for even thinking of a threesome much less being stupid enough to ask her for one.

Zane's eyes widened. He forced himself to back up taking several deep breaths as he did so. "Jo –" His voice cracked. "you need help, medical help. That's why we're going to the infirmary, now." Jo immediately wilted but acquiesced, which was another freaky piece of evidence in the 'Jo has lost her ever-loving mind' category. Zane grabbed her elbow and dragged Jo out of the lab before his libido short-circuited morals that until this very moment he never suspected existed. This goddamn good-guy shit is one bit of trouble after another. Being the rebellious criminal was a cinch by comparison.

There was a time when having the Enforcer suggest a threesome with him would have made his millennia. A time before, and if he was honest, long before Founder's Day. But, hot as Blake was and aside from how very much the Sheriff would kill him, for two years since he'd seen her in that deputy uniform, Zane had wanted Jo Lupo and only Jo. Zane, risked a glance down at the woman he was pulling along, noting that although she smiled up at him, Jo once again made no move to protest or argue with him.

What the fuck, man? Arguing with Jo had turned into an elaborate and wildly hot form of foreplay. Having Jo show up (in a dress!), willing and compliant turned out to be nowhere near as hot as Zane would have otherwise thought.

Zane dragged her behind him, increasingly aware of stares as they passed in the hall. The past couple of months, he had gotten used to being the go-to guy for the crisis fix, for being handy in a pinch, for being trusted to save the day. Now, the scientists and security goons alike were back to staring at him like he was gonna explode any second. All because Jo went Stepford girlfriend. When he found the scientist responsible for this fiasco, they'd be begging for the pranks he pulled on Larry by the time Zane was done with them.

The doors to the infirmary opened ahead of him. Zane quickly scanned the room, seeing Blake standing over a patient. He stomped over, dragging Jo with him. "Blake, something's really wrong with Lup-"

Behind Blake, Jo was sitting on the infirmary bed. Jo in a pantsuit and looking freaked out. So, whose elbow was Zane holding? He stared back and forth. His mind rapidly supplied possible explanations. Cloning experiment gone wrong? Maybe fake-Jo was just a hologram. No, that wasn't right. Zane focused so intently on figuring the mystery out that he almost missed Blake's response.

"I take it that you're hallucinating too?"

Zane blinked. He slid his hand down faux-Jo's arm, noting that although the static tingle was not present her skin was otherwise just as soft and smooth as the real thing. "She doesn't feel like a hallucination."

Jo, apparently real-Jo, on the bed tilted her head to the right. "Neither does he." Something in Zane brightened. That terse, "don't fuck with me" attitude. That was his Jo. He dropped the arm under his hand, grinning.

Zane plopped himself down next to his girlfriend. "So, Blake, am I gonna live? Or do you need to a through exam to be sure?" He waggled his eyebrows. Blake pointedly ignored him, speaking instead to Jo.

"I'll do an MRI and EEG of Zane to see if he matches your readings. Then, I'll need to take some blood from both of you."

The scans were painless, confirming that he shared Jo's increased gamma wave activity and neurological imbalances. Zane almost made a comment about how the couple that goes crazy together stays together. Only Jo's increasingly disturbed glances to the empty space on her right stopped him. Zane tried not to worry too much about what not-him was telling her. His fake-Jo had switched to talking dirty in a breathless, submissive tone.

Thing is, anyone who actually had fucked Jo Lupo breathless (which he had) would know how ridiculous and wrong fake-Jo sounded. Although that idea about the whipped cream and cherries did have some merit.

Blake had left them alone for the most part, muttering under her breath as she examined their test results on a monitor. Sick of hallucination-Jo trying to reacquire his attention, Zane decided distract himself.

"So, I'm seeing you. And um," Zane risked a glance at the Jo by his side. "you're seeing me?"

Jo fidgeted, not willing to look at him. A part of Zane felt thrilled that he warranted crazy hallucinations. Even if Jo hadn't exactly chosen this, the fact that her hallucination was him meant that subconsciously he was important enough to focus on. Zane frowned, turning toward fake-Jo who immediately perked up at his renewed attention. Not like he was surprised at his subconscious. Jo, hot and bothered and completely willing. Except, fake-Jo for all that she was a walking talking fantasy come to life was also-

His ears pink, Zane whispered. "Mine's creepy too."

"I'm not naked, am I?" Zane snorted at that.

He shook his head. "Um, no." Zane looked at Jo, trying to be as clear as possible. "Not like you need to be, though."

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. She moved a bit closer on the infirmary bed. "Stop, you're starting to sound like him." She jerked her head toward the right. After a moment's pause she continued. "If we're going to keep being able to tell the difference-"

Zane interjected emphatically. "She's nothing like you!"

That got him a gold star smile. Jo, hand on his arm, continued. "We can't let them confuse us. I cannot believe I'm saying this but I need you to be a jackass for a while." Jo smiled, taking the sting out of her request. "Nowhere near kind, considerate or-"

Zane glared at the empty space behind her, injecting as much mock-hurt into his tone as possible. "Your subconscious made me boring?"

Jo replied, voice soft. "Yeah, it kinda did." She looked just upset enough that Zane decided to share.

"Well, my subconscious made you submissive." Zane frowned. "And disturbingly slutty." Prior to this experience, Zane hadn't believed he'd ever considered anything disturbingly slutty but compliant and Jo together with the innuendos fake-Jo had been offering up to attract his attention, well, if the sun-dress fits.

Jo wrinkled her nose, looking disgusted if not for just the faintest upturn to her lips. "You. Jackass." Her voice was warm and pleased and making him very much wish that they were back in his apartment.

Zane leaned in close, smirking and cocky. "Mission accomplished."

"Ahem" Dammit. Blake had burst the bubble of privacy around the two of them. Fortunately, she didn't appear pissed at them flirting in her infirmary. "If you two are quite finished, " She tapped her fingers along the edge of her tablet. "let's talk about your test results."

Zane shared a not-at-all-repentant look with his girlfriend before motioning Blake to get on with it. Blake, for her part, merely raised an eyebrow in what Zane thought was amusement. "While both of you are quite healthy, there are some anomalies."

Zane felt rather than saw Jo frown by his side. "Like what?"

"Imbalances in your limbic system, mainly. It's surprising that they alone would cause such vivid hallucinations but not impossible. What has me more concerned is-" Blake's eyes widened and she whirled around. "Tess?"

What the hell? Zane leaned to the left to peer around Blake, feeling Jo do the same in the other direction. Behind Doctor Blake was nothing but empty space. He straightened, whispering to Jo. "Are we contagious?"

His girlfriend sniffed dismissively. "Contagious hallucin-" Jo frowned, as if suddenly remembered what town they lived in. "If we came in contact with a substance that affected our limbic systems and it was transferred to her when she exami-"

Blake's voice, uncharacteristically pleading, interrupted. "It's not like that, Tess! Jack and I didn't plan this! Please just let me explain-" The doctor froze and then shrunk in on herself. Having been on the receiving end of Tess Fontana's rants when she ran Section Five, Zane had a pretty good idea what Blake was experiencing right now.

"Alison" Jo rose from the infirmary bed, repeating in a soft voice. "Alison."

"No, wait! Tess, just let me-" Alison took a step or two towards the infirmary door before Jo caught her arm.

"Alison. There's nothing there." Jo's voice was gentle but emphatic. She gestured back towards Zane who decided to let Jo handle this one. Blake looked as close as he'd ever seen to ruffled. "Zane and I didn't see anything."

"But Tess?" Doctor Blake wandered back over to them, frowning. Zane opened his mouth only to abruptly close it at the good doctor's expression. Alison Blake did not freak out. She was calm and rational and, well, kinda boring really. Zane had always figured that was why her and by-the-book Enforcer got along so well.

Thinking back on a lunch over cheeseburgers, among other things, Zane knew now that wasn't entirely correct. Jo, he damn well knew she wasn't as straight-laced as he'd always thought. Bad girl Jo had quickly become one of his favorite things.

Zane noted his girlfriend's patient and wholly unsurprised expression. This version of Dr. Blake wasn't new to her. Which was a relief. Zane had enough trouble with upset females lately. Jo, he knew he could deal with, but anyone else? Based on his experience with Zoe, any help he provided was just as likely to make things explode, then burst into tears. Bad habits are so hard to break.

Blake took several deep breaths, glancing back and forth between them as if searching for some evidence that would contradict Jo's statement. Abruptly, her focus shifted to her tablet, her hands moving over the surface as she mumbled to herself. Zane recognized that look. Blake had a lead. "Mass hallucinations, possible visual cortex neurochemical imbalances, and sensory feedback-" Blake stilled, eyes narrowing at whatever her screen displayed. When she spoke, it was in a loud but even voice to the other doctor on duty in the infirmary. "Dr. Winthrop, we're leaving. You're in charge."

The man gave an acknowledging wave from behind a massive monitor screen. At that, Blake finally turned to Jo & Zane. Her voice was stiff but authoritative. "Come with me."

Zane noticed Jo's eyebrows shoot up at the tone to her friend's voice. He didn't blame her. He hadn't known the late Nathan Stark well but previously, he'd only heard that tone in Blake's voice when Stark was really, really in the doghouse. Jo shot a quelling look at Zane. Do not anger the quite literally mad scientist. No shit. Zane smiled just a little at Jo's semi-successful attempt not to roll her eyes at him. As Jo did so, she asked in a mild voice, "Where are we going?"

Alison replied, voice hard. "Grace Deacon's lab."

* * *

Jo had to hand it to Zane. He was being remarkably okay with the whole hallucination thing. Fake-Zane had not followed them. She winced, noticing a figure leaning against a laboratory door. Well, not exactly. Instead, fake-Zane appearances littered the route to Grace's lab. Each time she and the real Zane passed, the hallucination would resume his frankly serial-killer stare from doorways, down halls and in one case, from the rafters above them. Jo shuddered slightly.

For the most part, Zane followed after Alison with no comment or complaint. Jo figured seeing Alison lose it, however temporarily, probably did that trick. Most people at GD didn't really believe Alison Blake could lose it. The closest she had ever come to public demonstrations of that nature was after Nathan Stark's death. But, Alison had been busy returning wedding gifts when Fargo had held his "Dr. Nathan Stark Memorial LEDlight vigil" and the only person she'd been speaking to at the time had been Jack.

Jo, however, knew exactly how precariously controlled Alison was during that time. Three days after Nathan Stark's death/disintegration, Alison showed up at her office late one night. Initially, she had been composed but demanding. Alison wanted to know exactly what happened in that lab. Jo had tried to put her off, stating that Henry could explain better only to have Alison cut her off. In a breaking voice, the normally aloof doctor had ground out "I need to know that….that he's really gone, Jo. Henry and-" Alison had paused taking a breath. "Jack might be afraid to tell me if there's no hope."

Jo had stared helplessly, willing Alison to believe her so she didn't have to recount the awful details. Details which did, in fact, confirm that there was no hope that Nathan Stark was sucked to an alternate dimension or out-of-phase or anything else that had the slightest chance of being fixed. No one who had been looking at Alison Blake in that moment would believe she was incapable of losing it because Jo saw the nanosecond that Alison understood that her former-almost-again husband was not ever coming back.

Fake-Zane passed in front of her line-of-sight once more, pulling Jo from her recollections. Jo narrowed her eyes at the apparition. Since being outed as a hallucination, fake-Zane had been weirdly quiet. If the real Zane acted like that, Jo's first assumption would be that he was Up To Something. She noticed that they were approaching Grace's lab. Alison paused a moment outside the door.

"So, how we playing this?" Zane's voice cut through the silence. Under both women's questioning looks, he shrugged. "I wouldn't want to blow the big game, right?"

Alison nodded. "Right. Just let me ask some questions about the PTSD treatment device she and Henry were wearing at the barbecue." She turned to Jo, meeting her eyes. "And if Grace isn't answering, I need you to help." Jo blinked, surprised. Alison was no fan of the Enforcer. She usually admonished Jo for bullying defenseless scientists who just happened to have once again endangered the town and everyone in it.

They'd scarcely crossed the threshold of the lab when Jo noticed two surprising occurrences. The first was Carter, waving his hands enthusiastically. The second was Fargo and Grace trying to get a word in edgewise. Henry, looking uncomfortable, stood off to the side. Jo frowned. If she didn't know better, she'd say Henry Deacon was trying to slink away unnoticed. Which was weird and more like something Zane would do after pulling a really good prank-She froze, suddenly realizing why Alison might be quite so eager for Jo to scare Grace Deacon just the tiniest bit.

Before Jo could affix an intimidating expression, Carter noticed Alison and things got much, much worse. Instead of giddy or flirtatious, Carter instantly froze upon seeing Alison. His voice was very careful as he told Alison his news. "Ali, Stark-" He sighed, liking bracing himself for ripping a bandage off. "He's back. I saw him in my office."

Oh crap. Jo watched as Alison wilted just a little, wanting then and there to punch Grace Deacon. Alison took a wavering breath before replying. "No, Jack. He isn't." She put up a hand quickly to head off Carter's protest. Whatever her expression was, it snapped Carter's open mouth shut with an audible sound. "It's a hallucination. We're-" She gestured to Jo and Zane at her side, voice steadying as she went in explanation mode. "We're all hallucinating. You didn't-"

Jo noticed that Fargo was nodding behind Jack. Before Alison could say anything too embarrassing, he stepped forward between Carter and her. "I tried to explain it to him but Carter was too excited which-" Fargo turned toward the Sheriff. "Is a pleasant surprise."

Carter now shrugged, directing his explanation to Alison and not the Director. "I didn't get along with him but Stark wasn't a bad guy." He paused, slipping his hands in his pockets. "Besides, he never got to see Jenna. I can't imagine never seeing or knowing Zoe-" Alison crossed the distance between them, slipping by Fargo to give Carter a quick hug.

Jo frowned at Fargo a moment. "How did you know?"

Fargo hesitated just slightly, nose twitching, before answering. Maybe the others missed it but Jo knew that was one of his tells. "I'm seeing a fifteen year-old girl." At the other's stares, he huffed dramatically. "It's not as creepy as it sounds." Fargo stared off to the left a moment, an odd expression on his face. "We knew each other when we were younger."

Zane smirked. "You're seeing your high school crush?" Fargo just sniffed but did not contradict him. Jo knew her boss well enough to realize that he was letting Zane make assumptions, which may or may not be correct. Her mind was so focused on Fargo's attempt at subterfuge that she almost missed her boss's question.

"What about you two?"

Jo shared a quick look with Zane, before attempting to answer. "We are, ah-"

"Seeing each other." Zane finished for her, stepping in close and making his double-meaning quite clear.

Of course, even if it was in a surprising context, Jo didn't have time to enjoy Zane admitting that. Given that the Universe had decided it couldn't let her date Zane without some sort of cosmic realignment of bad luck, right at that moment Zoe Carter burst into the lab.

"Grace! You have to hide me-" Her voiced trailed off as she noticed everyone in the room. Jo saw her stiffen at the exact moment Zoe caught her and Zane standing together. She didn't have time to step away however because Carter spoke up.

"Hide you, Zoe? What's going on?" Carter stepped towards his daughter, only to pause at her stuttered reply.

"You know what? It's not important. You all look busy. I'll, um, go." Zoe whirled around, moving to open the door when she sucked in a breath. "Wait! This isn't what it looks like!" Jo watched Zoe's back straighten abruptly, a sure sign that the girl was furious. "You have no right to say that! Dammit, Lucas!"

Alison had walked towards the girl, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We're hallucinating, Zoe. He's not there."

Zoe leaned into Alison's touch and away from what was apparently a hallucination of her ex-boyfriend. Jo wanted to join Alison in comforting the girl but didn't think she'd be welcome. Zane took her hand and she smiled up at him. Dating a hyper-observant super-genius did have its silver linings.

Zoe stared at the unopened laboratory door for a few moments before asking in an unsure voice. "We are?"

Her father injected as much certainty as possible into his confirmation. "We are."

Jo saw the moment Zoe believed them. She seemed to relax just slightly before turning around and getting to the point. "Alrighty then. What the heck is going on this time?"

Alison, voice scraped clean of accusation, turned to the room and replied. "Everyone who attended the Deacon's barbecue is hallucinating."

Jo narrowed her eyes at the guilty-looking Deacons. "Neither of you appear surprised by this revelation."

Grace shot her husband a sideways look before trying to explain. "Henry informed me of certain suspicions and why you started looking into it." The female Doctor Deacon's voice hardened. "Manipulating science, hurting Eureka, wrecking my lab." The first two were expected. The Deacons both shared a belief in the purity and sanctity of scientific research. As for the last offense…Apparently, Grace had not forgiven the temporal conspiracy for trashing her lab with redwoods from 1947 during that particle entanglement fiasco a few weeks ago. In her defense, trashing labs was a Klingon-blood-feud worthy occurrence for GD scientists.

The Mayor's wife continued. "I had this memory device we're developing for PTSD treatment which Henry and I had already agreed to test over the next couple days. This possibility is among the side effects-" She raised a hand to cut off their angry interjections. "But only under specific conditions."

Henry took over. "Which we only repeated in a small, discreetly shielded area inside the kitchen. It should not have affected anyone in the yard itself."

Zane crossed his arms over his chest, clearly not buying it. "So what happened?"

Grace shrugged appearing genuinely confused. "Something amplified our signal." At everyone's expressions, she continued more emphatically. "Look, I didn't do this on a lark. I know most of what our neighbors are working on in their home labs – there wasn't any chance of interference. I'd appreciate if someone-" Grace nodded in Jo's direction. "Would double-check the off-site research permits to confirm it but the signal that did this was too coherent to be random interference."

Henry nodded. "She's right; to increase the area of effect so largely would require a good bit of power. Today's other incident-" Henry nodded at Carter. "-at the Da Vinci Bridge was also caused by a similar acoustical oscillation generated by a very powerful signal."

Carter frowned, hands in his pockets. "Let me get this straight. You wanted to intentionally cause hallucinations in our alleged conspirators so that, while in the throes of psychological trauma, they would say or do something which would get them caught?"

Henry cleared his throat before answering. "Essentially, yes."

Zane whistled appreciatively, giving the Doctors Deacon a look of respect. "Remind me never to piss either of you off."

Jo snorted to herself but really what did they expect? She secretly had a theory that the only reason the DoD approved the founding of Eureka back in the day was so that prickly genius types would be too isolated and busy to build death rays for people who cut them off in traffic or some other relatively trivial slight to their insanely fragile little egos. That Grace had decided to "help" was not surprising. What was surprising and spoke well for the woman was her restraint and the fact that, aside from some minor hallucinations, it went off so well.

She also knew, going by Zoe and Alison's expressions in particular, that some kind of retribution was due for this mess. While the Deacons might be free of culpability, whoever was responsible for this oscillating signal would have several angry geniuses after them. Hallucinations of her current boyfriend were creepy but ultimately forgivable. Dead husbands and accusatory ex-boyfriends? Not so much. As Grace spoke, Zoe's expression had become increasingly brittle. Jo decided to head off the inevitable explosion with the real question.

"So now that we know the hallucinations work, what are we going to do about it?"

* * *

Zane snorted, squeezing Jo's hand to let her know it wasn't personal. Still, she did have a way of getting to the heart of the matter. If they were already hallucinating this badly, who knows what the Grants were going through-

"Um, question?" Zoe now sported a quizzical expression. "What alleged conspiracy are the Grants involved in?"

Everyone froze. Zane dropped Jo's hand to pull out his tablet. Fucking Carters, can't leave well enough alone even when they have a point. If he moved quick enough, modifying the video feed in the lab would be a snap-

"Relax everyone." Zane's fingers froze mid-tap. He joined everyone in the room in staring at GD's Director. Fargo rolled his eyes. "Sonic protocols are already up." Now that he had their attention, he continued.

"I was familiar enough with Doctor Deacon's device to know what the hallucination was. What I didn't know was why nor that they were related to the destruction of the Da Vinci Bridge this afternoon. The sonic protocols were a precaution in case this was Henry's idea of helping." Zane nodded to himself because, although he didn't know Deacon that well, it did sound like something the man would do. "What I am more interested in are two questions. One, who or what is responsible for this acoustical oscillator? And two, if the Grants, due arriving late, were exposed enough to cause the hallucinations?"

The Deacons nodded in sync at Fargo's questions, Henry answered the first one. "This oscillator is quite powerful, much more so than I've seen before. However, I may be able to generate some predictions of the device's capabilities based on what we have seen so far."

Fargo nodded. For the question regarding the hallucinations, Henry remained silent, clearly deferring to his wife's expertise. Grace responded. "In order to affect all of us spread around the yard and do so to the extent that it has, the area of effect would be our entire property. Even if the Grants were in our front driveway parking their car, they would be affected."

"So how do we confirm it?" Zane smirked at his girlfriend, know she wouldn't appreciate waiting around for other people to go nutso. As she smirked back, yeah, waiting around wasn't something either of them were particularly good at.

"Okay, seriously guys? What the hell is going on?" Instead of her father or Alison answering Zoe, surprisingly Fargo chose to respond. Or not, Zane thought. The Sheriff had said that the two 'talked'.

"Remembering the Founder's Day explosion that I told you about? Well, it was a bit more complicated than I could say on an un-secure line. Someone time-traveled. Screwed up my positronic lightening experiment." At Zoe's confused expression, Fargo lowered his voice. "The thing in the place that you couldn't know about?" At Zoe's nod, he continued. "Anyway, there have been some repercussions. In our investigations we realized that the Grants were not as they seem and that they were the most likely candidates for involvement in the time-traveling incident."

Zoe tilted her head thinking. "Why would someone go to all the trouble to get someone out of the past and then return to the scene of the crime?"

Zane's eyebrows went up. Jo expressed his thoughts exactly. "That's a good question, Zoe." She crossed her arms, staring at the floor a moment before continuing. "We've been so focused on the 'who', that we really didn't think about the 'why'."

Zoe, not looking at Jo, responded to Fargo. "Why is time-travel such a big deal anyway? You'd think it would be right up Eureka's alley."

Now Henry spoke. "Actually, given the nature of time in our universe, any attempt to interfere with the natural flow of time could be potentially catastrophic." Zane had always been impressed with Mayor Deacon's easygoing authority. He wasn't one to throw around his weight whether of an intellectual or administrative nature. So it was impressive the amount of gravitas that Henry Deacon injected into his proclamation.

Now, Carter frowned. "So why would anyone try in the first place?"

Because it's cool, Zane thought to himself, rolling his eyes. He shared a commiserating look with Fargo, feeling for one second a bit of kinship with the Director as Carter, Alison and Grace batted ideas around.

Zane prided himself on being six different kinds of reckless, willing to try anything if it was dangerous, fun, impossible or any of the above. Being handed servers full of classified physics data upon his "hire" at GD was a dream come true. If you knew where to look, there were tons of Nobel-prize worthy ideas for a troublemaker desperate for an off-the-grid project.

Personally, he'd always preferred the Many-Worlds interpretation of time-travel. Any paradox would be resolved by the instant creation of alternate time-lines. Every time you traveled forward or back, you were really creating alternate universe. Quick, easy and loads of potential for a mischief-maker like himself. The entanglement situation a few weeks ago quashed that pretty effectively. Zane did not even want to think about what could happen with exotic particle entanglement across parallel universes. What a mess.

But it wasn't the only piece of evidence. If you looked deep enough, specifically enough into Eureka's pretty impressive sixty-four years worth of classified physics data, then hints, patterns started cropping up. Not enough to completely dismiss the possibility but if what they were hinting at was true…well, let's just say that there were good reasons why, with all of GD's resources at his disposal, Zane focused his attention on freeing lab animals instead of building his own time machine. Zane had no problem taking the laws of physics to their breaking point but to go beyond that? Whoever was responsible for the time-traveling quite literally gambled the universe.

And, Zane suspected that Douglas Fargo had come to exactly the same conclusion once-upon-a-time. Zane imagined a young Fargo staying late, going over old data with a fine toothed comb, pulling out the hints and becoming steadily more convinced that dammit, no, he would not be the first real Time Lord. Sometimes, it kinda freaked Zane out that the person at GD he had the most in common with was their bumbling boss. In this case, he was grateful because Fargo came to the exact same conclusion that Zane had a few seconds ago.

"We know that they're crazy." Carter's eyebrows rose at the harshness of Fargo's interjection.

Zane nodded, adding his opinion. He jerked his head towards Henry. "Deacon's right. Messing with time is universe-ending." Zane met Jo's eyes, knowing she'd get it first. "I'm not one to balk at risks but I'll say what I said on Founder's Day. Whoever did this is way more nutso than you think I am."

"Thought you were." Jo replied, with emphasis on the last word but nodding.

"So, lemme get this straight." Carter shuffled in place a moment, brow furrowed. "Anyone with the physics knowledge to mess with time but willing to do it anyway is so desperate or arrogant as to be insane?"

Henry, Fargo and Zane affirmed. "Exactly, Jack." "No doubt." "Completely looney tunes."

"Guys!" Uh-oh. Jo was tapping her foot. Never a good sign. "If the 'why' isn't important then we need to focus on the 'who', namely the Grants. We need to watch them to see if they give away anything."

"Not good enough." It wasn't until everyone turned to stare at him that Zane realized he'd spoken out loud. He cleared his throat, directing an apologetic look at Jo. Thankfully, she appeared to be more interested in whatever idea he'd had than the fact that he'd just rained on her parade.

Zane grinned, causing both Carter and Fargo to swear. "Blake, if you scan them will you be able to confirm they have the same limbic imbalance as us?"

Blake frowned, clearly confused as to where he was going with this. "Yes."

Carter huffed, almost sounding disappointed in Zane. "What's the point of telling them about the hallucinations if we want them to freak out?"

Zane countered. "What's the point of not telling them about the hallucinations if we want them to freak out?"

Carter's mouth snapped shut. Jo, sounding enthusiastic, continued the train of thought. "Convince them that what they're seeing is worse than they thought, means something terrible."

"Hell, yes." Zane suddenly realized a minor flaw in his plan. "Assuming Dr. Blake is willing to put aside some medical ethics in order to mislead potential patients."

Blake met Zane's eyes, face not-at-all-amused. "They could have erased my children from the time-line, Zane." She held up a hand at Henry's attempted interjection. "Not intentionally, but if they stepped on a butterfly in 1947-" She took a breath. "What do you need me to say?"

"The truth, actually. You just need not to contradict certain impressions they may get from the 'unfortunate souls' who had more severe side effects."

Jo, barely repressing a smile, asked the important question. "What unfortunate souls?"

"Me and Zane." Zane froze, sharing Jo's look of shock at the younger Carter's proclamation. As everyone turned to look at her, Zoe counted off on her fingers. "Dad's gotta go pick 'em up. Fargo, Jo and Alison have to 'convey the seriousness of the situation'. Henry & Grace can't be there because presumably they'd be on probation or in lock-up somewhere. Who does that leave?"

Jo was nodding, but Grace had a thought of her own. "What if Henry was affected as well? I could play the guilt-ridden distraught wife." She perked up. "Who would know exactly how bad these 'effects' were but-"

Fargo finished her thought. "Because she was responsible, Grace wouldn't be fully trusted or listened to. We'd attribute her proclamations of doom to guilt." He clapped his hands together. "Sounds like a plan. Carter, go find the Grants."

"Actually-" Zane had a thought. "We need one more person."

Jo huffed by his side. "This is an awfully crowded conspiracy."

He smirked. "Trust me."

* * *

Jo wasn't surprised when Zane showed up in the infirmary with Dr. Parrish in tow. A few comments by Zane during their dates had convinced her as Chief of Security she really should keep a closer eye on the man.

What she was surprised by was Fargo's enthusiastic greeting. "Excellent. Great idea, Zane." Clearly, their boss was over the immobilization mine prank.

Parrish's eyebrows skyrocketed at that. "What exactly do you require assistance with?"

Fargo bobbled excitedly. "We need you to hint, without ever stating outright, that the neurological anomalies Dr. Blake will be discussing match those caused by the RSS device."

Parrish recoiled. "You found something else that amplifies emotive states?" He appeared convincingly horrified, grinding out a harsh rebuke. "The RSS was canceled." The disgusted disappointment in his tone prompted Jo to roll her eyes. Ah, not pissed about manipulating people's emotions, just that his method wasn't the preferred one.

Zane stepped in. "No, we didn't. We just want someone else to think we did."

Parrish blinked, studying everyone present in the infirmary before turning to Zane. "You pulled me out of my lab for a prank?" Zane shrugged, utterly failing to convey innocent intentions.

Fargo added his bit of convincing. "If that's what you wish to think, we won't stop you." Fargo held up his datapad. "There's a ZD786 neuron-stimulation interface in it for you." Now, Parrish's eyes widened. Zane shook his head, causing Jo to smile to herself. He'd probably rant some more about Fargo's tendency to overkill when it came to blackmails or bribes but, seriously, Fargo went overkill on everything. GD's boss didn't really have a neutral gear anymore than her boyfriend did.

Parrish cleared his throat, taking the time to straighten his lab coat before answering in a falsely aloof tone. "If I must."

Alison's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, glancing at the screen before waggling her eyebrows in a disturbingly Carter-like gesture. "They're on their way."

"Places, everyone!" Fargo's voice rang in the infirmary, even though they were all standing less than a few feet from one another.

Jo followed Zane, Henry and Zoe over to the entrance to the isolation room which for today would not be entirely sound-proof. If it was possible, Zoe was ignoring Jo more pointedly ever since Fargo decided to share video of the Rage Incident as "training for their upcoming acting. He had specifically shown Alison releasing Zane in the infirmary, apparently not realizing that everyone else hadn't already informed Zoe of the incident.

Their poor, misguided boss hadn't even noticed that when Raged-Zane spoke of 'his Enforcer', Zoe sent her such a look of hurt that Jo felt like the world's worst friend. Judging by the quick glare sent his direction as Alison strapped Zane into his bed, Zoe was now equally pissed at Zane. Which made something in Jo relax. Hurt and mopey Carters were unnatural creatures, but pissed-off Carters? Prone to take risks but blessedly normal, by Eureka standards.

Grace stood beside Henry's bed but was addressing all three of their 'worst-case scenario' patients. "Unlike with the RSS, you should be hallucinating as your emotions overwhelm you. Also, considering that the limbic system isn't tied to anger, vary your emotional reactions. You should be feeling a variety of extreme emotions."

Zoe piped up with a question. "Should we be coherent? Or just babbling randomly?"

Alison and Grace shared a look before Alison shrugged. "Either." Zoe closed her eyes, mumbling several tongue twisters which Jo remembered from the girl's brief sojourn into acting shortly after arriving in Eureka. Grace and Henry were exchanging frankly sickly-sweet goodbyes. Honestly, Jo snorted to herself, you'd think they were never going to see each other again.

Zane, not one to let a chance for innuendo slide by, waggled his eyebrows as Jo approached his bed. "Got me all tied up. Kinky, Lupo."

Without hesitation, she replied. "Can't have you running off on me, can I?" She would not touch him. Not a chance. Not when she remembered just hours ago what touching him felt like. Jo clasped her hands behind her back, noting with some satisfaction that his hands strained against the cuffs.

"Please," Zane shifted, leaning up at her with a stage whisper. "You're all about the chase, Lupo." Goddamnit. Despite herself, Jo blushed. Only Fargo's voice calling everyone out of the room stopped her from replying.

"Carter's though the front gate." Fargo glanced once more into the isolation room. "Go ahead and start." Before the door closed fully, three sets of screams echoed through the infirmary.

As they waited, Jo took up position between Fargo and the isolation room door, as if she was protecting her boss from whatever was inside. Grace had collapsed in surprisingly well-faked tears. She was whining about how "she didn't mean it" and "please listen to me or you'll never fix it". Alison and Parrish stood together over a tablet, wincing and shaking their heads. Behind her, Jo heard Zane begging for his mom to let him build that fusion reactor in the basement, Henry freaking out over a lost space shuttle drifting in space beyond his control and Zoe screaming her bloody head off with the occasional "mother-fucking Lucas" thrown in.

This was the scene that the Grants and a somber looking Sheriff walked in on. Jo saw Alison stiffen the moment they entered but the woman apparently decided to let them stew a moment. Jo noticed Mrs. Grant directing wide-eyes to the screen showing the persons in the isolation room writhing in their restraints. Dr. Grant, pale and twitchy, managed to get out some form of coherent response. "I demand to know what is going on!"

Alison chose her moment well. Her eyes slid over the couple to address the Sheriff with breathless relief. "Oh thank God, Carter! You found them." She approached the two Grants, all business and placating. "How are you both feeling today?" Alison had pulled out a penlight as she asked her question, approaching both Grants with a clear intent to examine them in some detail.

Dr. Grant, still uncooperative, backed away repeating his earlier query. "What is going on?"

Fargo now stepped in, appearing to fail at blithe nonchalance with every inept bone in his body. "Just a slight glitch in an experiment." He waved a hand in a dismissive but maniac gesture. "We'd appreciate it if you'd let Dr. Blake check you out." His tone shifted to commanding half-way through the request.

Beverly Grant finally pulled herself away from the monitor to ask. "What happened to them?"

Now, Fargo and Alison shared a semi-disgusted look. Fargo, officious but vibrating in fury, answered her. "It appears that Mrs. Deacon-" His voice hardened as the woman in question sniffled in the background. "Decided that backyard picnics were appropriate places to test delicate pieces of equipment." Fargo's expression tightened as if in overwhelming anger.

Alison now interjected, laying a hand on Fargo's arm as if to calm him. "Unfortunately, Grace failed to predict how her device would interact with the stereo system. While the majority of us-" She waved at those present in the infirmary. "are unaffected. It appears certain people are more susceptible to-" Alison cleared her throat as if stalling. "adverse effects."

Doctor Grant's voiced squeaked with indignation. "Adverse effects? Is that what that is?" He pointed accusingly towards the monitors showing the current residents of the isolation room.

Beverly Grant narrowed her eyes, identifying much too confidently, too pointedly a clear violation of the stated pattern. "I don't believe I recognize him from the party." She smiled in Doctor Parrish's direction.

Parrish, for his part, merely sniffed dismissively. "I'm here for my expertise in exacerbated emotive manipulation outside of design intention." It was Mrs. and not Dr. Grant who caught the reference to the RSS device, paling slightly as she did so. Parrish continued, his voice laced with its signature disdain. "Especially in light of Mrs. Deacon's inability to account for attenuating factors."

Both Grants stiffened at the odd phrasing and its implication. Unlike the more obvious choice of 'extenuating', 'attenuating' denoted an unwanted interaction of devices. That was exactly what happened when something which should not have been there interacted with Grace Deacon's memory sharing device. Gotcha, Jo thought.

Clearing her throat, Beverly asked cooperatively. "How can we help?"

Alison sighed. "We just need to confirm that you don't show any signs of the, ah-" Zoe and Henry's pleas echoed from the isolation room. "deterioration."

Doctor Grant swallowed before nodding. "Very well."

Alison and Fargo directed the Grants to sit on an infirmary bed while Alison began examining Doctor Grant first. "Now, initial symptoms included mild hallucinations. Have either of you been seeing anything out of the ordinary?"

A part of Jo tingled at the Grants' shared expressions of horror. They were undoubtedly affected by Grace's memory device. Interestingly, it was Mrs. Grant who recovered first. She replied in a cheery, almost disappointed tone. "I'm afraid not. Honey," Doctor Grant started at his supposed wife's hand on his arm. "Have you seen anything?"

He stared past Alison and Fargo, blinking a moment before answering in a wavering voice. "No, absolutely not."

Alison visibly relaxed. "Well, thank goodness."

Fargo, more serious, interjected. "I expect that if either of you do begin showing symptoms, you'll report it immediately." His voice brooked no option for disobedience.

Parrish decided to add his own admonishment. "Yes, it does not take long for symptoms to -" He paused just in time for a pained scream from Zane to echo. "accelerate." At the last word, Grace began crying again.

Both Grants gulped. Again, it was Beverly who asked. "What are the other symptoms?"

Alison, glanced down at her tablet, as if reading from a list. "Hallucinations, emotional instability, anxiety, panic attacks, muscle spasms and various neurochemical imbalances." She gave self-deprecating shrug. "We're still trying to identify exactly what's going on neurochemically. The various fluctuations are difficult to untangle."

Pretending to sound like he was painting a rosy picture, Fargo interjected slapping Parrish on the back. "Which is why we called in an expert like Parrish. Given recent experience," Jo saw Beverly Grant's eyes widen at the second reference to the Rage Incident. Fargo continued blithely. "No one knows more about these situations than Doctor Parrish. We'll have this handled in no time."

Alison, falsely cheerful, added. "I just have to do a couple quick scans to clear you for sure and the Sheriff will drive you home."

Both Grants submitted to the scans as if they were facing the hangman's noose. Both appeared equally confused by Alison & Parrish's subsequent clean-bill-of-health. That is until Grace, fresh from a crying-jag, interjected. "You have to listen to me! Not everyone manifests at the same time! Differing baseline neurochemical states have to be accounted-"

"Mrs. Deacon-" Dr. Parrish cut her off with a cold look. "It is clear that your understanding of these matters in not as complete as GD was hoping for when funding your project." He directed a frankly creepy-comforting smile to the Grants. "It is unlikely that the Grants will suffer any adverse deterioration if they have not already begun to suffer hallucinations."

Fargo added brightly. "Which you haven't so" He shrugged. "Sorry for worrying you." Both Grants did not appear pleased with Parrish or Fargo's reassurances.

Doctor Grant, finally showing some concern for those in the isolation room, asked. "What will happen to them?"

Alison sighed dramatically. "Hopefully, we find a way to counteract the effects."

Doctor Grant bit out his next question. "And if you do not?"

Alison fidgeted as if delivering bad news and not liking it one bit. Fargo answered for her. "GD will ensure that they are taken care of." He now directed a cold look toward Grace Deacon who had resumed crying. "We will ensure everyone involved is taken care of." The supposedly-distraught woman wilted at his tone of voice.

Jack chose that moment to intervene. "So, they're clear?"

Alison and Parrish nodded together. "Yes" "Completely"

The Sheriff, pointedly not looking at the screen showing his daughter, directed his brittle expression at the Grants. "Let's get you two home, then."

Mrs. Grant shot him an understanding expression. "Of course, Sheriff. I know that you'll want to get back to your daughter."

Jack, for his part, gave off an accepting if upset smile. "Thanks for your cooperation." He slipped his hands in his pockets. "So-"

Doctor Grant stood first. "Of course." He extended an arm to his wife. "My dear, let's leave them alone to work."

Beverly Grant wished them all luck before leaving. The Grants had barely passed out of view when Grace and Alison began hovering over the records of their scans.

Jo bit the bullet and asked. "Are they affected?"

Grace, a little red-eyed but now cheerful, answered. "Definitely."

Another round of screams echoed through the infirmary. At Fargo's look, Jo went to tell them to cut it out. She hit the door control, only to be confronted with a wall of sound. Henry had apparently given up on trying to out scream Zane or Zoe and was now muttering to himself. Jo whistled loudly, cutting off Zane's "please no teacher, not the whip!" and Zoe's "battlebot spiders, oh my god they're everywhere!".

All three stared at Jo. Zane recovered first. "Did they buy it?"

Jo grinned, causing him to return it. "Oh yeah."

He jostled the straps on his wrists. "So, untie me then willya?" Jo stepped closer, hearing Grace and Alison enter the room to untie Henry and Zoe. Instead of reaching for his restraints, however, she frowned.

"I don't know, Zane." Jo trailed her eyes down his body. "You, in one place, unable to cause any mischief." She shrugged in mock-nonchalance. "That is an Enforcer's dream come true. You can't pull any pranks, upset any generals or get" Jo swallowed abruptly realizing what she was about to say. Not meeting his eyes, she now began undoing the restraints.

Zane's newly-freed fingers closed over her own as he finished her thought. "Or get hurt."

Jo stilled, blinking at him in shock and embarrassment. "You knew?" She barely registered that her overly-loud comment echoed in the room.

Zane rubbed the back of his neck. "Just figured it out recently." He gave a sheepish shrug. "I'm slow." He took a breath, before continuing. "This town isn't exactly safe, Jo. And neither of us inclined to run from danger." Something in his voice made Jo feel guilty.

As GD Security Chief, she possessed the option of reining him in if danger loomed. But, he could not do the same. There had been half a dozen incidents since they started dating. Zane had not once made any attempt to prevent her from doing her job. In fact, he was the first guy she'd ever dated who treated her running towards danger as a big-hot-feature and not a problem.

She sat down next to him, slumping slightly. Jo was thankful that Fargo had now entered the room and appeared to be distracting Zoe from eavesdropping. "I know." If this was going to work, at some point, Jo knew that she needed to trust Zane when it came to dangerous situations. Jo recovered enough to shoot him a playful look. "Besides, I now have other means of encouraging good behavior."

Zane, sitting up, leaned in smirking. "Encourage away." Only his voice wasn't joking, not entirely. They didn't shake hands or sign on any dotted lines but staring up at her boyfriend's face, Jo understood that they had just made some kind of promise to each other.

Grace's voice pierced through the bubble around Jo and Zane. "So, what do we do now?"

Jo and Zane stood together, joining the others near Henry's bed. Zoe, no longer ignoring them, now stared at Jo with an odd look on her face. Jo, for her part, attempted to ignore the younger Carter. Generally speaking, if you had evidence that a Carter was working through a problem, it was best to leave them to it.

Fargo outlined the plan. "The Sheriff will keep an eye on the Grants and communicate any symptoms he sees to Dr. Blake." He nodded to the woman to his right. "You two," He pointed at the Deacons, "Are going to determine what kind of signal could have affected Grace's device and where it could come from."

Noticing Dr. Parrish hovering patiently in the doorway of the isolation room, Fargo narrowed his eyes while pulling his datapad out. "Dr. Parrish will be leaving us and returning to his lab to revel in his new toy." Fargo's voice heavily implied 'or else'. He tapped out a sequence on the datapad. A moment later, the datapad in Dr. Parrish's lab-coat beeped. Parrish removed the device, giving it a quick glance before replying.

"Good day." He walked off, lab coat swirling behind him. His nonchalant acceptance of the situation caused Jo to gnaw on her lower lip a moment. As they heard the infirmary doors shut behind him, Jo said what she was thinking. "He knows this wasn't a prank."

Fargo nodded. "Exactly."

Jo frowned, only to have Zane clarify. "Parrish can add, Jo. If anything goes wrong, he now knows enough-"

She shot her boyfriend an impressed look. "To call the calvary."

Fargo, foot tapping, got their attention once more. "Mansfield will be arriving after dinner for the DED test which-"

Zane took over. "Is ready. I just need to adjust a few settings."

"Excellent." Fargo crossed his arms, leaning in excitedly. "I'll brief Mansfield on the situation after the test while you join the Deacons in figuring out the signal." Fargo rocked back on his heels. "Okay, everyone?" At their expressions, he gave a satisfied nod. "Zoe? You up for some dinner?"

Zoe shook herself a moment. "Sure." The two exited the labs in a haze of 'American Idol' induced fannishness. Jo loved reality TV as much as the next girl but she really didn't understand the younger Carter's obsession there.

Zane's arm came around her waist. His voice in her ear. "All that screaming. Makes a boy hungry."

Jo graced him with a smile. "I could eat." As she walked out of the infirmary, Jo made a mental bet with herself about which abandoned lab Zane would pull her into first. The supply closet outside the infirmary or the lab on the way to Section Three. As they ducked in, Jo grinned. Section Three it is.

* * *

Thank god they'd both programmed the General's arrival into their calendars. It was only the collective beeping of their datapads which promoted him and Jo to break off their "dinner" to go deal with the DED test. Even then, Zane barely made it to the lab in time.

Ten minutes after his arrival, the General waltzed in with Fargo in tow. The General appeared his normal pissy self but judging by Fargo's attitude, nowhere near furious enough to have been told about their findings regarding the temporal conspiracy. Zane gave himself a shrug. Better Fargo than him.

Zane worked on the DED test set-up, marveling at the device as he did so. Months ago, he'd never be allowed within a half mile of a project like this. But somewhere between Rage Incidents and over-emotional robots, Fargo decided to bring him into the project. If this test went well, Zane had one more successful project on his GD resume. And Fargo had a very pleased patron.

Zane was pointedly focused on the test set-up. Although he now knew fake-Jo was just that, she remained. Her diatribe of innuendo was a bit more pointed now and interlaced with snarky comments about real-Jo.

Apparently, his subconscious might still be a little pissy about Jo locking him up all those times. Zane didn't need a hallucination to tell him that. But making a big deal about something that Jo was just as upset about as him, seemed stupid. And she had kinda sorta promised to cut it out. Zane knew lots of things about Jo Lupo and one thing he was certain about was, she kept her promises. She would not be pulling rank to lock him up anymore. And his subconscious just needed to get the fuck over it.

"Donovan, are we about ready?" Zane blinked at Fargo's tone. For a second there, he could have sworn that Fargo was genuinely pissed at him. Zane frowned a little before replying.

"Just a few more tweaks, boss." It's not like Zane could entirely help the sarcastic tone. He just didn't do obedience. Still. As Fargo's eyes narrowed, Zane got the distinct impression that he shouldn't taunt the GD Director right now. Hmmm. Maybe Fargo was a bit more nervous about owning up to the Pentagon hack than he let on.

Mansfield, apparently deciding to kill two birds with one stone, chose this moment to interrogate Zane on his project. "I'm expecting your latest report on the shield tuning, Donovan."

Fingers moving over the keyboard, Zane did not risk a look towards the General as he replied. "Next Tuesday, yeah. It'll be done."

"And your progress?" Mansfield's tone was pointed. Zane might have until next Tuesday to get the report in but the General expected results now.

"Feasibility checks out, sir. We did a preliminary test with shield generators and a mock-up emitter matching the SATPARR satellites." Zane made sure to be looking at the General as he delivered the punch-line. "Saw through the shield like it wasn't even there."

Fargo winced. "I'm not comfortable with proving GD's shield is penetrable. If we can do it-" His voice trailed off.

Mansfield never lifted his stare from Zane's face. "I'm certain Donovan has a few ideas, Director Fargo." His mouth turned up in what could almost be a smirk. "Few people possess his expertise for how security measures could be turned on their masters."

Zane snorted at that, sharing a quick look as Fargo before they both caught themselves. Apparently, Mansfield did have a sense of humor. Zane hadn't directly dealt with the man since the TAP incident, for which he was grateful. But it appeared that the General, rather than holding a grudge about it, now considered Zane significantly more worthy of his attention than previously. Turning back to the DED set-up, Zane frowned. That could be a good or bad thing. Especially given his relationship with Jo.

As he made the last adjustments, Zane suddenly realized how badly this could go wrong. If Mansfield thought her compromised by their relationship, he could remove Jo as GD Security Chief. Which, Zane knew, without a doubt would devastate Jo. She loved her job just as much as Zane loved his. Zane cursed to himself. They'd been occasionally careless for all they stuck to camera and microphone blind spots while on GD premises. In making a public point for Zoe in the infirmary yesterday, he risked Mansfield's ire. Shit. Like keeping his hands to himself around her wasn't trouble enou-

What the hell? Zame frowned at the screen, hands stilled. That was weird. An EM signal permeated the test chamber. Like nothing that any of the present equipment could generate.

"Something wrong?" Fargo appeared by his side, voice conveying that everything damn well be perfect for the General. However, seeing the screen, the Director's eyebrow rose. "What's causing that?"

Zane initiated a couple quick diagnostics, which came back nominal. "I'm not sure."

Mansfield's voice pulled them both away from the screen. "Problem, gentlemen?"

Fargo turned, slipping his hands into his pockets in what may have been an unconscious mimicry of the Sheriff. "Just a few last minute adjustments."

Zane grabbed his tablet from the counter. "I'll go check the DED."

"I'll join him."Fargo slipped into the test chamber next to Zane, pulling out his own datapad as if checking his schedule. But Zane knew the Director well enough to know that he was verifying the signal Zane had detected. "It's tiny and an odd frequency." Fargo followed Zane in stepping around some cables, not looking up from his screen. "Do you think this will interfere with the test?"

Zane came to a stop next to the DED. Connecting his datapad directly to the device's main control port, he ran a couple more involved diagnostics. "It shouldn't but if it amplifies during the test-" Background signals that shouldn't be there sounded awfully familiar.

It seemed Fargo agreed as he ordered. "Send the signal waveforms to Grace and Henry. See if they think it could be responsible for our mystery attenuation." The Director rocked back and forth in place a few moments. "Can you record this as the test is on-going?"

Zane looked down at his tablet, thinking. It might take five extra minutes to set-up but shouldn't be too hard. "Yeah, so long as you keep Mansfield busy while I do the extra work."

Surprisingly, Fargo gave a dismissive wave. As if keeping Mansfield busy was easy as pie. Which, Zane realized, it had to be for the Director of GD. Otherwise, between DoD visits and demands, nothing would ever get done at GD. Fargo, glanced around a moment. The DED now blocked Mansfield's view of them. The test equipment itself loomed on either side.

Zane felt his blood turn to ice as Fargo spoke in a furiously even tone. "Excellent. Just one more thing to discuss before we return to the test."

He wasn't proud of himself but Zane gulped before replying. "Like what?"

"Like you being in a completely inappropriate relationship with someone way too young for you!" Fargo's accusation stung. Based on his attitude the past few weeks, Zane had thought the good Director not opposed to the idea of him and Jo being something other than enemies.

"Hey! You told me delicacy and security could mix." Zane shrugged, trying to figure out why Fargo suddenly would be furious about this. Fargo had to known which way the wind was blowing ever since confronting him about the cameras. "I'm trying it out." Zane thought a moment, unable to stop himself from adding. "And Jo's three months older than me."

Fargo's glare deepened at that. "What about Zoe?"

"Zoe's just a harmless crush; it'll be gone in no time. I'm with Jo." But, in the back of his mind, Zane thought, Ah-ha. Zane suppressed a smirk. He wondered if the good Director maybe had a thing for smart, wise-cracking redheads. "So, does the Sheriff know?"

Fargo's eyes narrowed. "Shouldn't you be asking me that?"

Zane shrugged. "Oh, Carter knows what my feelings are and aren't." Zane smirked. "I was asking if he knew about your thing for smart-ass young troublemakers dressed in quirky geek chic who happen to strongly resemble his daughter."

"Nonsense." The tips of Fargo's ears went slightly pink.

Zane held up his hand, extending his fingers as he spoke. "The chick who beat you in the cybernetic dog competition whose dog whistle made the whole town deaf for six hours, the chick that you had a crush on for months who you transferred to JPL when she body-swapped with Lupo in order to make a play for the Sheriff, Dr. Marten down in Aeronautics, the Other Donovan and Zoe."

Fargo went white. Unexpectedly, he neither vibrated with fury nor stilled in shock. Instead, Zane watched as Fargo, who he once caught playing with his Incredible Hulk action figures in the ARC reactor lab, transformed into the single most terrifying impression of Dr. Nathan Stark that Zane had never thought possible. Although he lacked the height of his mentor, Fargo somehow had Zane almost backing up at the disturbing assurance on his boss's face.

"Doctor Donovan, I respect and admire the Sheriff, as well as his daughter. A daughter, who I am certain, does not appreciate being condescended to by someone with no interest in reciprocating her feelings." Zane felt the cold metal of the test stand press against his back as Fargo leaned in, whispering in a tone devoid of his usual warbling hesitancy. "So perhaps we should focus on those who have recently made errors in judgment regarding young impressionable minds and not on those of us who have not." Fargo blinked. Whatever spirit of Nathan Stark possessed him fluttered away in the motion, leaving only Zane's wacky boss in its wake. "Okay?"

Zane nodded, not entirely trusting his voice.

Fargo squinted at him a little longer before nodding, mainly to himself. "Okay, then." He yelled over the DED test stand, mainly for the General's benefit. "Let's carry on with the test!"

As they made their way to the shielded booth, Zane's mind was only half on the test. The other half quickly came to several conclusions. One, Fargo totally had a thing for smart-ass, quirky, young troublemakers. Two, more specifically Fargo had a thing for one particular troublemaker. Three, Zane would never, ever bring that up again. Jesus motherfucking Christ.

* * *

"Mother-fucker!"

"Language." Grace Deacon admonished. She sighed at Zane's expression. "I know it's frustrating. Everyone knows this isn't your fault Zane." She went back to her computer.

Zane wasn't so sure about that. The test had been a frickin' disaster even at 0.4% power potential. That harmless EM signal spiked in the middle of a delicate portion of the procedure causing the power cells to overload. The resulting explosion had thrown him and Fargo several feet and almost injured the General. After the smoke had cleared, they realized the signal increase persisted causing the DED to become unstable. If something wasn't done soon, the device would emit an EM pulse which would fry the town. The DoD representative and Fargo had quickly gotten into a surprisingly vehement argument about whose fault it was and what was to be done.

After the General directed a particularly pointed comment in Zane's direction, Fargo had ordered him down to Grace Deacon's lab, supposedly to wait for disciplinary procedures but Zane got the message. The Deacons and him were going over everything they knew about this signal in order to track it down. Henry had come up with so possible design specifications for the proposed device. He was currently searching the GD database for any similar projects. Otherwise, they hadn't made much headway.

It wasn't another temporal event. Everything about it was completely wrong for that type of work. Which meant something else was going on. So either there was another group of people engaging in different secret research within Eureka or the temporal conspirators were branching out for some reason. Personally, Zane didn't know which he preferred at this point.

To make things worse, after the explosion, fake-Jo had changed tactics. Still in her sun-dress of sluttiness, fake-Jo now admonished Zane's scientific and sexual prowess. Frankly, he was pretty damn sick of her. Suddenly hair on his arms stood up, causing a part of Zane to relax. He turned around to find Jo walking through the lab door.

She shot him an understanding look. "Thought I'd check in. Any progress?"

Henry called out from behind a bank of equipment. "Definitely operating in-town. Alison and Jack are searching the likely area of origin now"

Zane took a breath, continuing. "We're trying to recalibrate the sensors for the EM shield to detect the signal. Reduce the size of the search area."

Jo folded her arms across her chest. "You can track it?" The three of them nodded. Zane saw Jo's posture loosen just slightly. "Good. Fargo and the General-" She winced. "It's pretty bad up there. I don't think Fargo's had a chance to explain a few things." She bit her lip, distracting Zane for a moment. "I don't think the General is going to give him a chance to explain."

"Shit." Zane was furious with himself. They should have known. Seriously, didn't he learn anything from Grace's party? If he hadn't been distracted as hell with the hallucinations, Zane would have thought to ask Grace for the interfering signal profile before the DED test instead of after when he'd stormed into her lab. One glance at the theoretical profile the Deacons put together and Zane knew that the signal during the DED test was a match.

A hand on his shoulder pulled Zane from his thoughts. "Hey, Fargo knows this wasn't your fault." Zane suppressed a wince. Given Fargo's current opinion of Zane, whether he thought Zane responsible for the DED test failure or not was irrelevant. However, the last thing he wanted was Jo thinking about Zoe Carter, at least as long as the teenager's crush persisted.

"Yeah." Zane shrugged, trying not to snap in frustration. He's the one that screwed up the test, not Jo. "Can't help but wonder though. After what happened at the Deacon's, should have postponed the test."

Henry, having patiently borne Zane's ranting and cursing up to now, interjected. "If Fargo hasn't briefed the General yet on the situation, you had no legitimate reason to postpone the test. At least not that the General would understand."

Jo added her own two cents. "After a major test postponement would be the worst time to inform the General of the situation-"

Zane couldn't help but contradict that statement. "Worse than after a major test failure?" He didn't add "or after a catastrophic EM pulse" even though they were all thinking it.

Jo gave a slight nod as if in acknowledgement before glancing past Zane to the monitor behind him. "You at a stopping point?"

Zane grinned eager for a distraction, especially a Jo-themed one. "I could be."

Grace overlapped his reply with one of her own. "Take him." At Zane and Jo's raised eyebrows, she pursed her lips. "You've been fuming at the monitor for a half-hour. Go relax!" Her eyes narrowed. "And come back ready to work!"

Zane leapt from his chair, saluting the Mayor's wife as he did so. "Yes, ma'am!" Henry, grinning, joined his wife in waving them goodbye as Jo and Zane exited the room.

Before the doors closed, Jo tilted her head towards the Rotunda stairs and the exit. "Café Diem?"

A large part of Zane would have preferred an abandoned lab and a meal consisting of what could be scavenged from the vending machines in Section Three. But, even he knew, as pissed as the General was with him right now, it would be worse if Mansfield caught them together on GD property. Besides, Jo was getting that tired around the eyes look that he hadn't seen since the wrap-up of the Rage Incident. However much a pain in the ass fake-Jo was, it appeared that fake-Zane was equally trying. Which just figures. He finally gets the girl and hallucination-him tries to drive her away.

"Sure." He slid his hands in his pockets, even though it wasn't exactly comfortable to walk that way. Like always, being around Jo made his fingers just itch to reach out. Knowing that it was allowed and not forbidden, miraculously, did little to ease the urge. Better safe than sorry. Zane frowned as something occurred to him. "Fargo didn't ask you to get me outta here, did he?"

Jo smiled, acknowledging the plausibility of the question. "No." They exited the stairs, crossing the rotunda. For a split second, her line of sight went past Zane, drawing his attention as well. Through the windows of the Director's office, Fargo and the General were obviously arguing. Zane's eyebrows went straight up. Fargo wasn't above the occasional comment or sycophantic but creatively-interpreted order. Now, however, the GD director was clearly in full-on thermonuclear rant mode. Jo's voice dragged him away from the scene. "Probably a good idea if we're somewhere else for a while."

As Zane turned back to his girlfriend, he noticed that she walked a good foot further away from his side. Her entire posture stiffened considerably. While he understood the why, it still rankled. He didn't want to make their lives more complicated right now either. Mansfield was one walking-talking grumpy complication. Nevertheless, Zane figured one tiny little Federal Indictment didn't warrant the likely panic attack the DoD would have upon finding out about him and Jo.

He risked a glare through the rotunda windows at the General in the Director's office. It was quick. Last thing Zane wanted was for the General catching him giving him the stink-eye. Jo, as they crossed towards the GD exit, had begun dispersing some of the gathered GD employees who were attempting to nonchalantly stare at their director standing-off against the General. Interestingly, most of them appeared more impressed with Fargo than concerned.

By the time he and Jo actually made it out of GD, they left a wave of dispersing employees in their wake. Zane's motorcycle, while awesome, was not an appropriate vehicle for the head of GD Security. As such, they had both come into work in Jo's car which, given the Mansfield situation, was probably a stupid idea. But frustrated after attempting to interrogate the Grants at the Deacons barbecue, neither he nor Jo had been focused on General-shaped repercussions. Zane silently cursed to himself as Jo pulled out of GD.

Prior to being shanghaied in Eureka, Zane had never in his life allowed anyone to dictate how he would live it. Granted, he hadn't always exercised sound judgment in that rebellion. Federal Prison neither dampened that instinct nor completely subdued it. Instead of becoming the type of prisoner let out early for good behavior, Zane went the other direction. Hacks of prison administration, tweaking the guards criminal records. But, because of his prisoner status, Zane had been forced to confront a few crap realities. Any bucking the system he did was constrained by those crap realities and had to therefore be well-considered.

After screwing up his first few hours in Eureka, Zane had grown even more reluctant to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Sure, he freed lab animals, taunted the Enforcer and greatly enjoyed being a pain-in-the-ass. But, let's face it; none of those things were going to end with Zane back in Federal lock-up. Jo was Mansfield's golden girl, his hand-picked watchdog. The General had a very personal stake in her pristine record. If he thought Zane was undermining that and if, given past experience, he thought Zane was Up To Something in the process? Zane felt a tickling at the back of his neck, like he used to get when the cops were chasing him.

In the corner of his eye, Zane saw Jo driving, jaw-clenched and, if he didn't know better, very eager to shoot something. Given her attitude in the rotunda, he didn't blame her. Mansfield finding out all they've done to root out the temporal conspiracy was bad but there's no way he wouldn't also find out about Jo and Zane at the same time. He figured he had a pretty good idea what fake-Zane, and therefore Jo's subconscious, was harping on.

They'd both had too much serious today. And, Zane was a lot better at not-serious anyway. "Relax, Jo. Come on, you've got two me's? You're not even having fun with it." He clucked his tongue. "So disappointing."

Jo wrinkled her nose, voice well past the 'I will taser you in the ass if it shuts you up' threshold. "Two colossal jackasses, one of whom-" Jo glared into the rear-view mirror at the empty back-seat. "I can't escape from is not my idea of fun."

Zane frowned, Jo felt like she needed to escape from him? If it were possible, he'd beat the shit out of fake-him. "You told me to be a jackass so that one's your fault. What happened to boring fake-me?"

Jo snorted. "Like the real you, he got pissy when I didn't pay enough attention to him." She shrugged, knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel. "He changed tactics."

This morning Zane had been very proud of the fact that neither of them got much sleep last night. Noting Jo's weary expression and stiff body language, now Zane couldn't help but wonder if her lack of sleep was making the situation worse. "I could try that whole boring thing if it helps?" Jo snorted in disbelief. "What? You think I can't manage it?"

She grinned. "Not a chance." Jo sighed, frowning. "And it's unnecessary. For the most part, it's easy to tell the difference. When he was revealed to be a hallucination, not-Zane just stood there and stared." Jo shuddered. "I should have known better. In that respect, he's just like you. Quiet means Up To Something." Zane smirked, not wasting his breath contradicting Jo on that. "Now-" Jo sighed. "Now, he's talking again." She shot Zane a glance before returning her eyes to the road. "Nothing I can't handle but, let's just say, I'd rather hang out with real-you right now."

Zane lacked a proper response for that, remaining silent as Jo parked her car. He followed Jo into Cafe Diem, surprised to find both the Sheriff and Blake in there. "Hey Jo, how's it going?"

Jo shook her head ruefully at Carter's question. "Not good. The General's pissed."

Zane added his two cents. "And the DED is gonna blow soon."

Alison, carrying a couple bags of takeout, nodded towards the exit. "Hopefully, we'll find the device and shut it down before then."

Both he and Jo wished them luck as they left. Finding an empty table was no problem. It was well past the dinner rush hour. Glancing at his phone, Zane realized that restaurant would close in an hour or so.

Looking across the table at Jo, Zane recalled Grace Deacon's comments on the hallucinations. Apparently, the only way to get rid of them was to deal with whatever subconscious desire was causing them. Zane frowned as Jo ordered for both of them. Hallucination-Jo sat on a nearby table, slumping and scowling. She made faces as real-Jo spoke to Vincent. Why was she still here? Jo and him had talked about her habit of preemptively arresting him for stuff.

As Vincent walked off, Zane found himself courting trouble far more than usual by starting what would likely be a stressful conversation with an armed woman. "So, what's your drama?"

Jo's eyebrows went up. "What?" At his expression, she quit playing dumb. She frowned at something over his left shoulder. "I'm actually not sure. I thought it was-" Jo glanced around, voice dropping to a whisper. "- the arresting thing."

Zane huffed. "Me too." Fake-Jo had rolled her eyes at that, not impressed with his deduction skills and for a split second actually acting somewhat like real-Jo. He couldn't fully suppress the alternate explanation that occurred to him. It seemed unlikely but...Zane fidgeted with the salt shaker before asking. "We're good, right? After last night?"

Without hesitation, Jo answered emphatically. "Yes." Zane matched her grin, only to watch it fade abruptly. She spoke over his shoulder. "Shut up! I'm through with your mind games!"

Fake-Jo also piped up. "You two are so full of shit. You really think that you have this figured out? Ha!"

Zane snapped. "I'm great at figuring things out and so is she!" A hand on his arm stopped him. His girlfriend was directing an understanding look his direction. But, several other diners were looking in their direction with some suspicion. Even with the events of recent weeks, Zane still got the occasion "OMG, he's a dangerous criminal stare". That's not what these looks were about. No, it was the "back away from the crazy person" stare. And those bastards were looking at Jo the same way. Damnit. One more downgrade of her reputation due to him. Like Mansfield needed any more ammunition.

"Hey." Jo's fingers rubbed a spot on his sleeve, warming the skin through the fabric. "This is just normal new relationship stuff." At his expression, she rolled her eyes trying not to smile. "Okay, normal for Eureka anyway."

A part of Zane relaxed. They had already gotten through a lot to get here. Surely a couple of measly subconscious concerns would be peanuts by comparison. "Okay. It's going good." He took her hand in his own. "Really good. Still, before we both had to worried about this. So-" He gulped, staring at Jo's face as he spoke. "What were we worried about?"

Jo, hand still in his, shifted in her seat. Zane's stomach plummeted. There was something. Shit, he knew it. Looking at her, he knew she wasn't up to sharing just yet. So he gave it a shot. "Personally, I admit to wondering a great deal what a nice, upstanding girl such as yourself is doing with someone like-"

"Shut up." Jo's hand tightened in his own. "You're nowhere near as reprehensible as you like people to think, Mr 'I call my mom once a week'. I spent two years learning exactly how bad you are-" She leaned in, eyes intent on his. "And how bad you are not."

So what was her deal? And his? After voicing his concern, fake-Jo did not appear to be fading in the slightest. Zane really was with Jo on this. They were simply too good together, way better than he'd ever dreamed. Subconscious hallucinations were not going to stop it. Any Eureka hijinks were not going to stop it. Generals weren't either, dammit.

Looking at her suddenly Zane didn't care about the people surrounding them, General Mansfield, the DED test or anything really, except Jo Lupo. However much time they had wasted these last two years, Zane would not trade these last few weeks for anything. Even more threats of jail-time from the General, while inconvenient, weren't enough to dissuade him. In fact, sorting through all the fantasies and scenarios Zane had of what they'd be like, it occurred to Zane that he really never wanted it to end, to have even the slightest chance of ending. The image of him and her, older, greyer and still kicking ass hit Zane like a ton of bricks. And he must be insane to be considering this, but Zane really wanted to make that image reality.

Fake-Lupo smiled from behind his girlfriend, noticeably pleased. As she faded away, Zane heard a faint. "Took you long enough."

He barely heard the hallucination though. An idea shot into his mind like a Fourth of July firework – crazy, bold and if it worked, awesome. Grinning at Jo, he broke the spell. "Can you excuse me a second? I need to talk to Vince about an idea for a project that I just had."

* * *

Jo, still tingling from how he'd been looking at her a moment earlier, blinked at her boyfriend's retreating back. What the hell was that? One second, they were, let's face it, making eyes at each other and the next? He had to talk to Vincent? Jo frowned as she watched the two interact across the cafe. While they didn't necessary behave like they were hiding something, she recognized Zane's blithe charm for what it was.

He was Up To Something. On one hand, she really ought to be worried. On the other, she sighed. This trusting Zane to not make insanely stupid decisions had to start somewhere.

A voice taunted, as fake-Zane slid into a chair next to her. "Oh, so now you're all trusting are you? After everything you've done? Some Ranger you are Jo." Jo stiffened, not looking at the hallucination.

Ever since he'd started talking again, the delusion had not let up. Fake-Zane, no more deterred than real-Zane would be, continued. "A daredevil like him with a coward like you? Please. Who are you kidding, Jo-jo?"

Jo's teeth hurt as she tried not to scream her reply. "Don't call me that! Only he gets to call me that!"

"Who calls you what?" Her real boyfriend sat down across from her, appearing considerably more at ease. Jo narrowed her eyes at him. Something was different. Almost as if-

"She's gone." Zane blinked at her tone but Jo couldn't keep herself from being disappointed that whatever had been worrying him was so easy to deal with, while her own concerns showed no signs of abating.

Zane, for his part, fidgeted. "Yeah, but it was kinda an accident. Just sorta stumbled on it."

Jo's foot tapped under the table. "And that was it?" If all it took was thinking what you're problem was, Jo knew that she was at a disadvantage. As many times as she had outsmarted Zane in order to catch and hold Zane, she had no illusions that his intellect operated at a far higher speed than her own. "You don't have to deal with your 'concern'?" She couldn't stop herself from making air-quotes around the word.

Zane, for his part, just grinned. "Actually-" He leaned across their table, taking her hand again. "I have a plan." Seeing her expression, he admonished. "But it's a surprise. A good surprise."

Jo once again marveled that, of the two of them, the commitment-phobic felon was far more ready to deal with the consequences of their relationship than she was. But, his confidence appeared contagious. She felt something in her lighten, smirking at him in realization. He might think faster, but judging by the number of times she had caught him when he hadn't let her, she could out-do him occasionally. If he had a surprise in the wings, then she'd just have to surprise him right back. "Well, then. I'll just have to keep a look-out for anything...shocking."

Zane expression, if anything, grew more like that of a cat who ate the canary. He did not have time to reply though before Vincent showed up with their food. The gossiping cafe owner was admirably discreet at catching the two of them holding hands and staring at one another. Having skipped dinner to spend time with Zane, Jo dug into her food with gusto, an act which Zane mimicked.

Unfortunately for both of them, half-way through the meal, reality intervened. A sharp piercing noise caused glasses to shatter throughout the cafe. Jo's hands went to her ears as she recognized the sound from the Deacons. Another oscillation event.

A crunching sound echoed as the sound faded. Zane shot her a look as they both rose from their table to check outside the cafe. In the street, a passing car twisted into shapes that were only a parody of a functioning vehicle. The former driver, laying next to the car, stared at it in shock.

Zane quite serious said from next to her. "We should head back." Jo, pulling out her phone nodded agreement. First, though she had to report this.

* * *

"Carter, there was an ambush. The DED is gone." God, she hated delivering bad news. Despite the warm morning, Jo felt cold and adrift. Fake-Zane, still present, tut-tutted from behind her. "Wow Jo-jo, some Security Chief you are. I mean, we both know you're not as willing to take risks as this job demands but an oversight like this...looks horrible on a resume."

None of them had got any sleep that night. After returning from the cafe with Zane, she had gone to check on Fargo and the General. Shortly after that, Mansfield had tired of arguing, finally choosing to exercise his authority to order the DED moved. Fargo had fought it but in the end, couldn't stop it.

When she'd gone down to Grace's lab to update Zane and the Deacons, they'd shaken their heads. Moving the DED wouldn't stop the charge build-up. No matter where the DED was, if that signal was capable of reaching it, the charge would continue to build and eventually- Zane had fumed, uncharacteristically quiet in defeat. She received the distress call from the transport team shortly after.

Carter and Alison, although successful at disarming the device, had been too late. It was now clear that the intent had been to get the DED in transit. Whoever the conspirator's were, they were not foolish enough to attempt a theft inside a Section Five lab at GD. On the road outside of town, however, was far easier.

The entire ride back to GD, fake-Zane had not let up. His pointed comments about her cowardice were beyond grating. While she knew that for the most part the hallucination was full of shit, in one particular respect fake-Zane was entirely correct. The guiltly jabs each time his remarks hit home were giving Jo a stomachache. If it wouldn't be a waste of bullets she would have shot the hallucination hours ago.

As Jo re-entered the GD rotunda, she dreaded being the one to inform the General. Fargo remained in his office, working on his computer. After ordering the transport, the General hadn't waited before leaving town as well. Judging by her boss's frustrated expression, he hadn't the opportunity to update Mansfield on their progress investigating the temporal conspiracy. Which would come back to bite them in the ass later. The longer they waited to tell Mansfield about the hack, the more suspicious it looked.

Jo didn't waste time with pleasantries. "The DED is gone."

Fargo snorted derisively from behind his computer monitor. "Big surprise." He glared at the couch a moment before continuing. "I'll inform the General."

She hated to be the one to point this out but-"Sir, when the Pentagon investigates-"

"I already submitted my report to them along with my official disagreement with the decision to transport." Fargo vibrated in place with righteous fury. "Mansfield will not blame me for his own mistakes." He shifted in his seat. "How is everyone?"

"Carter and Alison are bringing the recovered device back to GD. According to her, it matches Henry's predictions pretty closely."

Fargo nodded. "Good. Something about that design is familiar to me." He gestured to his screen. "I'm searching through the proposal database now. I know that I've seen this before."

"Great." Jo continued. "Zane is digging into the Grants' backgrounds a bit more. Trying to find any link with research which could tie this to the time-traveling. The Deacons are prepping Grace's lab to perform testing on the recovered device."

"Excellent." Fargo abruptly stood, walking over to her. He glanced at the couch a couple of times but otherwise ignored whatever he was seeing there. "I need you to get the report on the DED ambush done as quickly as possible. I don't want the General accusing us of dragging our feet on this."

Fake-Zane choose this moment to pipe up. "What you? Drag your feet on something? How uncharacteristic!" She ignored him, nodding at Fargo's request.

Completing the report was a nightmare. Aside from the fact that she had to face the fact that her crack security team screwed up rather significantly, fake-Zane spent the entire two hours she interrogated the team and wrote up the report taunting her endlessly. If it wasn't digs about her relationship with Zane, it was comments on her lack of backbone in dealing with unpleasant situations. As she emailed the final report to the Pentagon and Fargo, she silently sent out a prayer that these hallucinations would be over soon.

"Hey Jo-jo, you done hiding in your office?" Fake-Zane had returned, once again calling her by Zane' preferred nickname.

Something in Jo snapped. Ignoring him hadn't worked, maybe yelling at him would. "Will you stop doing that? Are you here to tell me my ass looks great when I hold a gun?"

The hallucination shrugged, smirking. "Well, you do have a nice-"

Her palms slammed down on the desk before she could stop herself. "That's it! You know what?" Jo stood, leaning across. "You're right, okay? Happy?" She took a shuddering breath, finally admitting aloud what she'd been thinking this whole time. "I was a coward. For two years, I ran. I knew what Zane wanted and I knew what I wanted and I just spent two years making us both miserable instead, alright? I don't need you and your creepy smiles to point it out to me. Ranger or not, I spent two years treating someone who was-" Jo 's hands waved, noticeably shaking. "daring, fun and everything I never admitted that I wanted like he was shit. But, I'm not going back to that and we are amazing together! No thanks to you and your snarky comments. So if you don't mind would you please shut up?"

Fake-Zane blinked, stunned. His expression loose and open. "Two whole years?"

Jo slumped. "From the second I saw you." She glanced up at the hallucination, only to freeze. A second Zane materialized behind the Zane she had spent the last minute chewing out. The Zane who was not in fact a hallucination. Now that she saw the two of them, the differences were apparent. For one thing, fake-Zane wore a blue t-shirt, not the grey one Zane had slipped on yesterday morning as they scrambled to be presentable for the Deacon's barbecue.

As she stared, the hallucination smirked fading out. "Gotcha." Her gaze returned to the other, oh god, the real Zane.

A Zane who returned her stare like he'd never seen her before. Jo braced for the explosion. For someone like him, who took risks like breathing, no matter how understanding he'd pretended to be, spending two years frustrated and ostracized because of your now-girlfriend was bound to rankle. He took a step towards her, reaching when they jumped at the sound of her office door whoosing open.

Jo blinked back tears at Carter's voice. "Guys, I'm really sorry about this but-" He turned towards Zane. "Zane, I'm afraid that I have to arrest you for collusion in the theft of the DED device."

"What?" Both Jo and Zane responded with equal shock. Jo was all prepped to demand an explanation only to have Zane wave a dismissive hand.

"Whatever, that actually makes some sense. But first-" He put a hand up towards Carter a moment, pulling an envelope out of his back pocket. "Jo needs to see this. It's everything I dug up on the Grants. Time-travelers or not, it proves that they aren't who they say they are."

He threw it down on Jo's desk with an apologetic look at Jo. She nodded through her shock as Carter pulled Zane out of the office. Jo sat shakily, her breaths short. Before she could stop herself, she had the envelope open.

Fargo, for his part, had been adamant that Zane was being framed. The conspirators had chosen an old design proposal of his for their acoustical device but it was one of many versions available. Combined with Zane's security code being used to shutdown the protections on the DED making the overload more likely, well, it was a pretty convincing. Too convincing really when you considered how good Zane was a sneaking around.

Fargo had even gone so far as to apologize for finding the incriminating evidence to Jo when she'd called him with Zane's evidence. "Look, I'll meet the General and plead Zane's case." Fargo had frowned a moment before continuing. "Go down to the Sheriff's and keep Zane there. If he tries anything, it will only look worse. He'll listen to you."

Jo wasn't so sure about that. She had made it as far as Main Street before chickening out. She had called Jack so he could pass on that Fargo was fighting the charges and Zane really, really to refrain from doing something stupid now. But instead of joining them, she ducked into Cafe Diem.

She sat at a booth, nursing a smoothie and wondering how she would face Zane. Or, how she would face life in Eureka without Zane if Fargo failed. Her mind worked furiously. But if Fargo did reveal their work in tracking the temporal conspiracy, then the General would also find out about her and Zane. Her credibility for proving his innocence would be zero. At this point, she just had to hope that Fargo brought his A-game and that Zane would still want to-

"What about Jo? Dad says. Silly me for not listening." Jo froze at Zoe Carter's voice. Her head shot up to find the girl sliding into the booth across from her. Jo opened her mouth to stammer out an apology only to have Zoe wave a hand dismissively. "Only so many times a guy can run away from a girl before she's just not that into him anymore. Freaking coward. Besides, it's my own fault for getting in the way of the Lupo-Donovan Vibe of Destiny."

Jo couldn't stop her protest, even if that same vibe was currently driving her a little bit nuts. "We don't have a-"

"Please. I should have checked the betting in you & Zane's pool before coming back to town." Zoe waved at Vincent behind the counter, who cheerfully returned the gesture. "Do you know the odds have dipped from 100:1 against to 20:1 in favor in just the last three months? What have you been getting up to Jo? And, more importantly, why haven't I heard about it until now?"

"It's nothing. A whole lot of nothing really." Jo had agreed with Zane's plan to deter Zoe's interest, but had not properly considered the fact that 'sharing-is-caring' Zoe Carter might have additional reasons to be cross with Jo.

"So you are not now dating Zane?" No mercy, Carters. Not many people know that about them.

"Technically yes but-"

"And you didn't tell me why exactly? Don't say because I liked him, that happened recently and I checked." Zoe nodded toward Vincent again. "The bets changed weeks ago Jo. So dish, willya?"

"I thought you'd be mad." Which was true. It had always been true. Zoe was like the little sister she'd never admitted to wanting growing up. Zane had hurt her. No matter how good things had been between her and Zane, Jo still felt a little bit like a traitor for choosing him over Zoe.

The girl in question rolled her eyes at Jo's words. "I didn't like him weeks ago, Jo."

"No, because of his escape attempt. He hurt you."

Zoe blinked, wrinkling her nose in shock. "That was two years ago! Why would I care about that now? Especially when, aside from me getting hurt, it wasn't ever a big deal."

"He was dangerous-"

Zoe cut her off. "Please, Zane's a total teddy bear. He just goes grizzly around you. He's never been a bad guy, Jo."

"I know that but he almost killed you. I thought that you'd-" Jo frowned, trying to put into words. "I thought you wouldn't want me to date a guy who almost killed you." Zoe's words finally registered. "'It wasn't ever a big deal'?"

"Jo, he didn't leave." Zoe spoke emphatically and calmly. "He was out, Jo. I couldn't stop him." Zoe gestured to her own torso. "Pilar was in full melt-down mode and Lucas was pinned under what was left of your desk. Zane could have gotten away. Instead, he got Lucas out, called for help, calmed down Pilar. He waited at the Sheriff's office until Dad came back. He could have left, Jo." Zoe reached across the table for her hand. "I'm sorry for the last couple days. But Jo, if you've held yourself back for the last two years because of a semi-accident, no different than any other wacky experiment in this town, then Jo, I'm a lot sorrier for that."

Jo couldn't breathe. She'd read the report, of course. Intellectually, she knew Zane had helped after. But that wasn't the same as Zoe saying he did. Remembering their night together, she smiled across at Zoe. "He really is a teddy bear."

Zoe grinned. "Absolutely. And, as it turns out, he's your teddy bear so enjoy it, okay?"

She nodded not trusting her voice for a moment. When she did recover, Jo got out a weak "Okay."

"But, since I'm being so awesome about this, you owe me one hot super-genius."

"Well, there's always Fargo." Jo nodded at the scene across the restaurant, where Fargo had just spilled his milkshake and was now attempting to help AI Vincent clean up with predictably disastrous results. The other customers swirling around him in practiced blindness.

Stiffening, Zoe winced a little before replying. "If I concede that I deserved that for accidentally going after your guy, can we both agree to never imply anything about me and Fargo ever, ever again?"

Jo let her think a moment, just long enough for Zoe to fidget. "That's reasonable." She wouldn't have done that ordinarily. But ordinarily Carter wasn't freaking out about his daughter throwing herself at the town bad boy / Jo's boyfriend. However pleasant some of the consequences of the crush had been, it was a relief to finally have her friend back.

Zoe leaned back in the booth. "So, what's the plan for springing Zane from the slammer?"

Jo fidgeted. "We're working on it. Well, Fargo is." At Zoe's frown, she continued. "I know he's innocent. But Mansfield might not appreciate my opinion considering-"

"That you're dating the suspect." Zoe narrowed her eyes at Jo, looking for all the world like a Carter who has had just about enough of your pesky secrets. "How did that happen by the way?"

For a split second Jo thought about dodging the question, but only a second. Until that moment, Jo hadn't realized how much she missed the chance to talk to Zoe about this. Grace and Alison had been great but, if he'd been any other guy, Jo would have told Zoe about first. She stirred her tea, noting Zoe's eager expression. "Well, it all started on Founder's Day-"

**THE END (for now)**

* * *

Coming soon(ish)...

_The General directed his next question to her. "Do you have a problem handcuffing and locking him up anytime you deem it necessary?"_

_Jo huffed, genuinely insulted. Her reply more emphatic than the last. "No sir."_

_"For the record, sir. I don't have any problem with that, either." Jo shut her eyes. Idiot. She could only hope the General forgave Zane his usual inappropriate remark._

* * *

*Once again, the poem is Douglas Woolley's "Ode to Hydrogen".


End file.
